I was watching the movie Sneakers the other night at a recommendation of a good friend of mine. For those who are unfamiliar with the movie, the plot centers around a group of misfit tech geeks. They have a business of breaking into systems (eg banks) that are believed to be unbreakable. By doing this they provide insight onto where the organization lacks security. This movie came out in 1992 so it was before smart phones, facebook, and a lot of other programs that get people worried about safety and security.
One thing that impressed me is that the team was able to discover the password to what seemed to be a very secure system by basic surveillance--they just watched him through the window. Later on in the week I noted several people unlocking their smart phones with simple connect-the-dots patterns. THis was particularly unnerving to me, because if an unmalicious person like me could recall several electronic passcodes, how much easier it would be for someone trying to steal information.
What this all boils down to is that although I don't believe we should become paranoid; I think we should take more physical precautions in our day-to-day lives. We can put up as many firewalls and encryption devices as we want, but if physical protection is disregarded all the rest is made null.
So true. We worry about posting things online, but my sister still holds out her debit card for everyone to see when she's waiting in line at the store to check out. Anyone could snap a picture of that, write it down, or if they're really good, memorize it. There's a lot to protect in the virtual world, but some basic common sense in the physical world helps a lot.
ReplyDeleteYES! If only people would realize this in the physical world. To some people, the only way they learn is the hard way, and when that happens, let's hope it's a friend teaching them a lesson and not a thief stealing their identity.
ReplyDeleteAren't we glad we can learn these "security lessons" in the relatively safe environment of a University course?
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