ATM theft using an MP3 player

Chris Harrington — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 02:49:47 +0000

I saw this on the NEISG mailing list a while back…just came across it again. A thief plugged an MP3 player into the phone line of an ATM and recorded the sounds. From there he was able to decipher card numbers and expiration dates. Apparently they were either not encrypted or weakly encrypted. My bet is the former.

It is scary how many people think that “private” circuits that ISP’s and Telco’s offer are actually “private”.

–Chris

Technorati Tags: MP3, ATM, Theft, Information Security

VA loses another PC…36,000 at risk

Chris Harrington — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:32:59 +0000

This makes twice in 3 months that the VA has lost the personal information of our veterans. This time a PC was apparently stolen from the offices of a contractor (Unisys) who was doing insurance work for the VA.

See the story at SearchSecurity.com

I’d hat to be their CISO (if they have one)….that’ll be one hot seat. Here is a statement from Rep. Frank LoBiondo:

“I am angered and outraged that while our veterans protect our nation’s security, our nation is unable to protect their personal information. Twice in three months our veterans’ personal information is found in peril. Decisive action must be taken now to install the necessary security protocols and prevent future breaches.”

And the wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round……

–Chris

Technorati Tags: VA, lost data, identity theft

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ATM theft using an MP3 player

VA loses another PC…36,000 at risk