Two quick thoughts about the Sony hack today. First: Haven’t we all seen (or, not seen) this movie before? The one where a corporation is brought to its knees, allegedly by hackers from a foreign enemy upset about an offensive movie? And second: Where’s the gloating? The hackers’ silence right [Keep reading]
I don’t know if the North Korean government has anything to do with the Sony hack, though I seriously doubt it. I don’t know if the group connected to it has any ability to carry out real-world attacks, though I have even more doubts about that. I don’t know what [Keep reading]
Sony reminds me of the chaos theory in the hacking world. Yes, you should be very afraid of what’s happening at Sony right now. Here’s why. Four years ago, I wandered the halls at the giant RSA security conference collecting scuttlebutt. Companies spend thousands, even millions of dollars, to make a splash at [Keep reading]
There’s a simple way to end the theft of millions of credit card numbers from merchants like Target or Home Depot: Stop giving merchants credit card numbers in the first place. One way to do that is to replace credit card account numbers with “token” data that merely represents the [Keep reading]
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who disagrees that America’s schools are in need of serious reform. And it’s an obvious leap to think technology is the fast lane to improvement. “Ed-tech” is where some of America’s thorniest issues collide, however. Big Brother. Marketing to kids. Privacy. Boondoggles. Attention deficit [Keep reading]
While Comcast is pushing new modem/router gadgets at subscribers around the country, some consumers are complaining that they are being tricked into ordering new modem/routers that come with a monthly fee. Also, in many cases, customers who simply click on a link in an email to learn more information about [Keep reading]
Some Pinterest users around the web are complaining that the massive sharing site is malfunctioning, leading to a lot of anxiety among pinners. “Wow! A disaster on #Pinterest. It’s having a nervous breakdown,” wrote one. “No ones pins are in the right place. All the boards are totally mixed up. A [Keep reading]
I spent the last couple of weeks looking at work-at-home jobs and the various gotcha and booby-traps they come with for Credit.com. As usual, many of these things work because they contain a grain of truth and perhaps even stay on the right side of the law. But the real [Keep reading]
A recent study published in a serious academic journal found a connection between credit scores and heart disease. A note tucked inside the paper mentions research that could by vital to parents. Scientists at Duke University examined 1,000 New Zealand residents for signs that credit behavior and health were linked, [Keep reading]
You’ve probably heard about online scams involving high-priced items allegedly for sale on web sites. Consumer sends money, item never arrives, victim loses thousands of dollars. But no one really falls for that, right? Wrong. In fact, $20 million wrong. Scams like that are so successful, and so pervasive, [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan