Dr. Markus Jakobsson is Principal Scientist at Palo Alto Research Center. He is a founder of the security startup RavenWhite, which addresses security problems associated with authentication, malware and click-fraud. He is also one of the founders of SecurityCartoon, an educational approach targeting typical Internet users. He is a firm believer in technology to address security problems, but believes that a holistic view that includes the end user and his/her behavior is crucial. Unexpected user behavior can thwart the best security measures, and any security measure must be designed with social engineering and human failure in mind. Dr. Jakobsson's recent books Phishing and Countermeasures (Wiley, 2006) and Crimeware: Understanding New Attacks and Defenses (Symantec Press, 2008) chart new territory in online security. He received his PhD from University of California at San Diego in 1997.
Sarah Palin goes the way of Paris Hilton
Wednesday, it was reported that Sarah Palin's Yahoo account was hacked by a perpetrator wishing to find incriminating information in her emails. It was not done using some strange computer security vulnerability. It was not done by guessing her password. It was done just in the same way as Paris Hilton's T-Mobile account was hacked some time ago: by guessing the answers to security questions.
How Herbert Thompson stole his friend's identity
This is a great account of how easy it is to break into people's accounts.
What you always wanted to know about malware (but were afraid to ask)
Malware, like real-world epidemics, has the strange property that it does not only matter to your health how well protected you are, but also, how well average people “out there” are. The more machines that are infected, the higher is your risk of also becoming infected. But that is not all: You are at risk even if you are well protected!
Why no news is bad news – at least when it comes to malware
Once upon a time, malware authors wrote code to infect thousands of machines for entertainment and intellectual stimulation. Today, it's all about the money, and the greatest threat may lie in the silence, making a far more dangerous landscape.
