“How do conmen convince you to part with your money? Who are they? And how do they choose their victims? Learn their secrets from someone who has studied their dark arts. Magician Nick Johnson has some interesting insights into psychology of scams…and some suggestions on how to stop your money from going up in smoke!

Damien Carrick: Now from secrets that get lifted from government, to how you and I sometimes inadvertently hand over information or money to con men. How do scammers manage to convince people to hand over their hard-earned cash? To find the answer, perhaps we could talk to a police officer or a criminologist. But someone with a lateral take is magician Nicholas Johnson. He reckons that both magicians and scammers use the same box of tools: psychology and sleight of hand. In fact he’s studied the dark arts of the scamster, and has some suggestions on how to stop your money from going up in smoke.

Nicholas Johnson: I think what I love most about con artists and the world of scammers is that they’re criminals who manage to get their victims to hand over their possessions freely. Most thieves and robbers and the like, tend to use force, or deception, in order for them to take things, whereas a con artist manages to get their victim to freely give up their stuff. And I think that’s what really fascinates me the most.”

(via The Law Report. h/t: Schneier on Security)

[Read more →]

Found in an old, dilapidated copy of “Good Omens”, possibly from a convention held long, long ago:

“Room Party, Friday night at 9:30, Room 3064, Hosted by Bruce Schneier; Come celebrate the publication of another travelogue, and whatever else we can think of worth celebrating.” It must of been a great party because I can’t remember a thing! Anyway, here’s a good interview with Bruce.

“It’s been ten years since Bruce Schneier - founder of security monitoring firm Counterpane Internet Security - launched his newsletter, Crypto-Gram, which expanded from covering computer security issues to a broader investigation into security issues of all sorts. Now Counterpane belongs to BT, where Schneier is chief security technology officer, and as he tells global technology editor John C Tanner security is still a hard sell.

Telecom Asia: Your background is computer security and cryptography - how did you end up applying that knowledge into the world at large?

Schneier: I think it’s just what happens when I start looking at something. I start looking at the bigger picture. The first sort of major milestone was the post 9/11 issue. I just couldn’t stop writing, and that’s how I processed what happened.

T.A: It seems you’re better known now for your writings on security than for the company you founded, Counterpane. For those who don’t know, what did Counterpane do before it was bought by BT, and what’s its status now?

Schneier: Counterpane is part of BT professional services in BT Americas, though it’s selling worldwide. And it’s still doing what it was doing, and the core is real-time security monitoring. The idea is that there are lots of security products out there, but if you’re not watching them, they don’t do any good. So that’s always been what it was, and then there’s a whole suite of services built around security monitoring. There’s all sorts of management, device management, configuration help, but all built around real-time monitoring. That’s a critical piece BT needed, and we started working together, and then they decided to just to buy us. The other thing we get out of it is that BT also bought INS. So this amalgamated group is the INS security consulting services and our managed security services.”

(via Telecomasia. h/t: Schneier on Security)

[Read more →]

“A scene from the airport of the future: A man’s pulse races as he walks through a checkpoint. His quickened heart rate and heavier breathing set off an alarm. A machine senses his skin temperature jumping. Screeners move in to question him.Signs of a terrorist? Or simply a passenger nervous about a cross-country flight?

It may seem Orwellian, but on Thursday, the Homeland Security Department showed off an early version of physiological screeners that could spot terrorists. The department’s research division is years from using the machines in an airport or an office building - if they even work at all. But officials believe the idea could transform security by doing a bio scan to spot dangerous people.

Critics doubt such a system can work. The idea, they say, subjects innocent travelers to the intrusion of a medical exam. The futuristic machinery works on the same theory as a polygraph, looking for sharp swings in body temperature, pulse and breathing that signal the kind of anxiety exuded by a would-be terrorist or criminal. Unlike a lie-detector test that wires subjects to sensors as they answer questions, the “Future Attribute Screening Technology” (FAST) scans people as they walk by a set of cameras.”

(via USA Today)

[Read more →]

Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s private Yahoo e-mail account was hacked, and some of its contents posted on the internet Wednesday.

The internet griefers known as Anonymous took credit for the intrusion, and screenshots of e-mail messages and photos belonging to the Alaska governor have been published by WikiLeaks. Threat Level has confirmed the authenticity of at least one of the e-mails.

Full Story: Threat Level

Looks like WikiLeaks is down right now so I don’t know what the messages say, I’m guessing nothing shocking or THAT would be the story.

WikiLeaks link

Update: WikiLeaks is working now, and Gawker is also mirroring the content

[Read more →]

“Millions of passengers flying from British airports will be fingerprinted from next year under the latest controversial Government anti-terror plans. The measures, which will apply to both domestic and international passengers, are being introduced despite opposition from the Information Commissioner, Britain’s privacy watchdog.

The Commissioner forced Heathrow to abandon a similar plan earlier this year after warning that it was potentially illegal under data protection laws. As a result, ‘common departure lounges’, where both domestic and international passengers can mix freely, are being introduced at all major UK airports. This poses an obvious security risk in that an incoming international passenger - possibly a terrorist or a criminal - could switch tickets with an accomplice booked on a domestic flight. The international passenger would then be able to fly elsewhere in Britain and enter the country without being checked by immigration authorities.

Now, the Home Office is putting the finishing touches to new rules requiring compulsory fingerprinting for all passengers. The amendments to national aviation security rules will require fingerprints to be scanned when passengers pass through security into the airside terminal. Passengers will be fingerprint-scanned again at their flight departure gate. It is likely that the scheme will later be expanded to cover passengers at major seaports and the Channel Tunnel rail links.

The measures will enable police and the Security Services to check fingerprints against international watch lists and Interpol databases, searching for suspects travelling on false identities. Critics say the main reason for the scheme is that airport operators want to maximise profits by ensuring all passengers are able to spend money in ‘duty-free’ shops.”

(via The Daily Mail)

[Read more →]