35 Personal Safety Tips
February 1, 2017 | Security
The following list of personal security tips may help secure you in your daily life. These tips are just the ‘tip’ of the iceberg, so add your own to the list… Always be alert and aware of your surroundings and of the people around you. Make casual eye contact with people when walking. Do not be easily distracted by your ‘smart phone’ (e.g. ‘texting’). Keep your head up. Whenever possible, buddy-up to walk out into dark parking lots. Always inform family or friends if you are traveling, and give them itinerary dates and locations yo...
Bug Sweep, Bug Detection, and TSCM
February 1, 2017 | Security
What is bug sweeping and TSCM? Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM), or bug sweeps, uncover illegal surveillance devices, unknown technical surveillance devices, and identify security weaknesses. Today, almost anyone can easily and cheaply acquire surveillance devices and use them to invade your privacy. While there are a lot of surveillance countermeasure service providers, it is essential to use a trained, qualified investigator. Their use of electronic surveillance detection can give you confidence that your privacy is pro...
Have you been 'PWNED'?
October 25, 2016 | Security
Have you been 'PWNED'? Site reveals if your email address was among the millions leaked in recent hacks such as VTech, Adobe and Ashley Madison. Pwned is play on the word 'owned' and refers to being taken advantage of The 'Have I Been Pwned' site securely stores lists of email addresses leaked during recent security breaches at major companies Typing an email into the site reveals which, if any, breach affects you It also reveals if your email address has been 'pasted' onto other websites that could make it vulnerable to hackers In r...
Hackers Open Door To Career Opportunities
September 20, 2016 | Security
By the time you've been hacked, it's too late. That's the cruel lesson of cybersecurity. Keeping networks safe requires vigilance, common sense, and very likely some advice from experts. Peter Bailey, the general manager of Wellington-based Aura InfoSec, says there are an estimated million vacancies in information security around the world, so it's a career where there are opportunities for those with the right skill sets and aptitude. Technical ability is an obvious prerequisite, but people skills are important as well. As hacker tur...
Testing Continues On All Blacks' Bug
September 11, 2016 | Security
Forensics tests are still being carried out on the listening device hidden in the room used by the All Blacks to plan their Rugby Championship destruction of the Wallabies in Sydney. The bug was discovered in the meeting room at the Intercontinental hotel in Double Bay four weeks ago. The spying nasty was discovered during a routine security check of the room in the lead up to the All Blacks' August 20 48-2 win over the Wallabies. In a statement provided to the Herald on Sunday, New South Wales police said: "The device continues to be...
Expert: Only A Matter Of Time Before Terrorism Reaches New Zealand
August 30, 2016 | Security
Radical Islam will come to New Zealand "soon enough" and New Zealand should prepare for its arrival, a terrorism expert has warned. Professor Greg Barton of Deakin University, one of Australia's leading scholars on terrorism and violent extremism, said it was inevitable that Islamic State recruitment would reach New Zealand. The organisation was spreading rapidly throughout the world through social networks and was causing serious problems in Australia. "It hasn't had a big impact in New Zealand thus far but it has had a big impact in...
Daniel Toresen On The All Blacks' Bugging Mystery
August 22, 2016 | Security
As the hunt begins to identify who bugged the All Blacks, security experts have described the outrageous operation as expensive and sophisticated - but expected the culprits to be quickly found. Daniel Toresen from Auckland private investigations firm The Investigators described the find as "rare, extreme and serious". He believed it would have been carried out with someone with specialist knowledge on covert operations. Listening devices were easy to find online, but Toresen said expertise was needed to install and operate them prope...
How To Make A Strong Password
August 12, 2016 | Security
People tend to hate computer passwords, that often nonsensical jumble of letters, numbers and special keystrokes said to be essential for digital security. The secret codes seem impossible to remember. It's why every login page has a "Forgot password?" life preserver. The struggle even has a name: Password rage. Now, a new standard is emerging for passwords, backed by a growing number of businesses and government agencies - to the relief of computer users everywhere. No longer must passwords be changed so often, or include an incompre...
Going On holiday? Why You Should Never Trust Your Hotel Room Safe
August 4, 2016 | Security
It’s important not to assume that leaving your valuables in a safe makes them completely secure. After forgetting the password to get into the storage box, a man rung up reception to get it unlocked. Worryingly, the help desk informed him that all he had to do was enter another password to open the safe. It wouldn’t be difficult for a thief to get their hands on any of the guests valuables, as Brad was informed that the default code that unlocks all of the hotel machines is simply 000000. Concerned by the hotel’s revelation, Brad deci...
Pokemon Go Is Collecting All Of Your Data
July 12, 2016 | Security
Millions of people are collecting Pokemon on the new app Pokemon Go while the developers are collecting their data. Since its initial release on Friday in New Zealand Pokemon Go has captured people's attention - along with a lot of its users' information. The developer Niantic Inc is a spinoff of Google-owner Alphabet and uses GPS in its users' smartphones to track all their movements. Niantic tracks where people go, when, how long they stayed for and keeps all of that information. If you logged into the game using your Google account...