Author archives

Pete Weiss, formerly a Systems Engineer in Teleprocessing at The Pennsylvania State University

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues March 16, 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Inside Facebook’s physical security that protects Zuckerberg, employees; Many Americans do not trust modern institutions to protect their personal data – even as they frequently neglect cybersecurity best practices in their own personal lives; Some beSpacific (and LLRX) Subjects (topics) in which you may have an interest; and Firefox Send – Free File Transfers while Keeping your Personal Information Private.

Subjects: Big Data, Congress, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, KM, Legal Research, Privacy, RSS Newsfeeds, Social Media, Viruses & Hoaxes

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues March 9, 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: IRS Urges Taxpayers to Watch Out for Erroneous Refunds; Beware of Fake Calls to Return Money to a Collection Agency; Phishing Scams: Is Your Financial Institution Helping Cyberthieves? Guess what? Facebook still tracks you on Android apps (even if you don’t have a Facebook account); and – Phone numbers are the new Social Security numbers.

Subjects: Big Data, Congress, Cybersecurity, Economy, Encryption, Financial System, Government Resources, Privacy, Social Media

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues March 3, 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Software vulnerabilities are becoming more numerous, less understood; What You Need to Know About Data captured automatically by smartphones and digital cameras; and Apps are sending sensitive data to Facebook, despite company policies.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Cybersecurity, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 23, 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Google Quiz – Can you spot when you’re being phished?; Don’t be fooled by fake images and videos online; Study of Password Managers; and Your smartphone is tracking you: How to stop it from sharing data, ads.

Subjects: Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Email Security, KM, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 16 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Social Security and Medicare scam calls heating up – not just targeted at seniors; How to Wipe a Hard Drive (especially important when you upgrading to a new hard drive or computer); A secure relationship with passwords means not being attached to how you pick them; and Internet Privacy: Additional Federal Authority Could Enhance Consumer Protection and Provide Flexibility.

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Government, Elder Law, Financial System, Healthcare, Intellectual Property, Privacy, Social Media

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 9, 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Microsoft Security Lead Outlines the Perils of Still Using Internet Explorer; No more robocalls: How to block unwanted calls from iPhone, Android; How your health information is sold and turned into ‘risk scores’; and The Best Websites to Find out If You’ve Been Hacked.

Subjects: Cybercrime, E-Commerce, Email Security, Health, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 2, 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Lawmakers warn of ‘deepfake’ videos ahead of 2020 election; Cyberattacks in Medicine: Is Radiology the Weakest Link?; Vint Cerf sees a big danger from the internet of things; and Facebook’s ‘Friendly Fraud Scandal’: What Parents Need to Know.

Subjects: Congress, Courts & Technology, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Email Security, Legal Research, Legislative, Privacy, Social Media

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues January 26 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: News outle’s email security gap; On Facebook and Twitter your privacy is at risk — even if you don’t have an account; The Smart TV Crapware Era Has Already Begun; and Mastercard Makes It Easier to Quit Free Trials.

Subjects: Cybersecurity, Email Security, Financial System, Privacy, Social Media

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues January 19 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Trick for turning your iPhone and AirPods into live spy mic goes viral; .gov security falters during U.S. shutdown; Countering Russian disinformation the Baltic nations’ way; and Why the US Government Is Terrified of Hobbyist Drones.

Subjects: Court Resources, Cybersecurity, E-Government, Privacy, Spyware

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues January 12 2019

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. four highlights from this week: The Privacy Risks of Public Location (Meta)Data; Western companies send old servers full of sensitive info to foreign countries; NSA to release a free reverse engineering tool; and Protecting Consumers and Businesses from Fraudulent Robocalls.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Social Media