h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's for reasons such as this that I don't do online banking. I'm relatively clued-in to computer security, although not as much as I probably could have been, had Tech TV and The Screensavers still been around and I'd been keeping up with developments, and the people who can worm their way onto my computer are far more clever at hiding themselves than I (and perhaps the security programs I use) am at finding them, or knowing they're there.

That doesn't excuse the IT professionals whose job it is to keep databases that hold our personal information secure. An occasional breach is inevitable, given that criminals can always find a way to be one step ahead of the law, but the recent spate of them is showing up a lack of diligence similar to that of the banks and card issuers.

At some point we have to start asking just how necessary is it to have so much personal information stored in places that are connected to the internet.

There's a lot that can be done to make information more secure. Wired had some very good suggestions in an article from last August.

http://www.wired.com/2014/08/how-to-save-the-net/

Specifically the sections about A "CDC" for cybercrime: http://www.wired.com/2014/08/save-the-net-peter-singer and Keeping the Net Open: http://www.wired.com/2014/08/save-the-net-vinton-cerf/


Currently when companies and organizations are breached they're incentivized to keep quiet about it and that's dangerous. The NSA is definitely not helping as they have a record of not keeping so called Zero Day Vulnerabilities to their self and putting back doors into software and hardware.

Currently cybersecurity is mostly reactive. And when those who have been breached aren't sharing how they were breached it exposes others to the same hacks. It would also help greatly if we went to a default where nearly every communication is encrypted.

And as expected this breach was a direct result of Anthem not bothering to encrypt their customer information including SSNs.

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/breach-health-insurer-exposes-sensitive-data-millions-patients/

When there's an all-pervasive corporate mentality of cost-cutting and making everything as easy and fast as possible, it's hardly surprising

Heh... In response to your post 39:


http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Bizarro/104855/2015-02-04.php

Ooops... forgot to edit the URL for today's date.


http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Bizarro/104855/2015-02-05.php

That didn't work either, but I suspect it will work tomorrow.

Just hit the [Next] button to see the relevant comic.

Just for posterity's sake, HERE is the correct "permanent" link to that comic.

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Bizarro/104901/2015-02-05.php