Hi peeps, Ruan over here.  

I’m really glad to be here once again updating our 280th post at VPFI!

DON’T TRUST ME

Companies these days spend thousands of dollars on their computer security. They buy the best firewalls and computer programs. However, Kevin Mitnick thinks the biggest danger these days is not a weakness in technology. In the 1990s, Kevin Mitnick was an infamous hacker. He hacked into government and corporate computer systems. After being sent to prison, Mitnick decided to use his skills in a different way. He started his own computer security firm. He now advises people on how to keep their computers safe.

According to Mitnick, the biggest danger to security is people. However, by this he doesn’t mean hackers. In fact, he means the people using the programs. “If an attacker can get one trusting person to give his or her information, the attacker gets in. All that money soent is basically wasted“. A hacker can get around everything with just one person within the company.

Unfortunately, people are still to trusting. In a recent test of the US tax office (the IRS), security experts called 100 managers. They posed as IRS computer technicians. The experts were able to fool 35 of the menagers. They gave both their passwords and IDs. In the hands of real hackers, this would have been a disaster!