SciTechBits – Interesting Bits of Science & Technoglogy Served For You!

Online auctions open up opportunities for several types of frauds. A particular type, which facilitates illegal loans, is on the rise in several nations. Researchers have analyzed these cases to find patterns, which could help identify them, including other types of auction frauds.

As the internet reach broadens, more and more people have started to use online auctioning (EBay). Along with this growth, fraud also keeps growing. 2007 alone saw about $14.37M in auction fraud. Misrepresentation of items, fake bids by the seller to drive up the price, adding hidden charges (shipping & handling, insurance), non-delivery of items and offering black market goods are just some of the well known online auction frauds.

A particular type of fraud is very prevalent in Korea and is also found in most other markets – Online Credit Card Phantom Transactions (OCCPT). In this type of fraud, the seller and buyer collude to create a fake transaction, there by resulting in money (loan) got from the credit card company at a relatively very low interest rate, as compared to other options. This fraud is done in situations where, a person is not able to secure any forms of legal loans, interest rate of available loans are very high or cash advance limit on the credit card is very low compared to the purchase limit. Finally, the buyer (the owner of the credit card) could pay or not pay the credit card company.

Privacy has been a major issue with all Social Networks. While the networks do try to address the issues, most of the times – the solution provided is opting out of certain features. Researchers have tested a new privacy model, based on Bayesian Belief Networks – which creates a win-win situation for both the users and the network.

Everyday so many users join Social Networking Sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, MySpace etc, to keep up with friends, organize events with friends, make new friends, or flirt. One of the main features of SNSs is the”profile” where users post information about themselves. The profile can include real name, e-mail, physical address, phone number, academic classification, major, hometown, birthdates, sexual orientation, relationship status, interests, job history, favorite music/movies/books, etc. This revelation of personal information provides credibility to the profile and also helps match with other profiles. Users post personal information for a variety of reasons – 89% use it to keep up with friends, 57% use it make plans with friends, and 49% use it to make new friends. How much and what kind of information is revealed depend on users’ privacy concern and the trust on the SNS and its members.

The digital divide is deep and gaping between security professionals and users. Researchers have studied the differing points of views in an attempt to bridge the great divide. But do prejudices on both sides make the chasm too wide and jagged to seal?

A digital divide exists between information security managers and users. IT/IS managers mainly regard users as an information security threat, while users regard themselves as an untapped resource for security work. Research suggests these greatly differing points of view tend to make management approaches to security that do not line up well with the dynamics of the users’ working day.

Different work situations and rationalities may explain the digital divide in organizations. The security professional operates at a distance from the everyday work tasks and vulnerabilities in the company, but put toe to the line in a digital attack when vulnerabilities require crisis management. Users, however, step up to the plate every day as required to keep the company going forward as productive and profitable. For users, it is often a case of feeling like all their rights and privileges are unjustly controlled.

Your right to privacy is shrinking, but it’s happening quietly without much publicity. Identity theft steals far more than your privacy.  So far in 2009, over 13 million records have been breached! Here are the top privacy breaches this year.

by Angie Porter
Cyberspace is the new Wild West frontier where sophisticated hacking is like having the fastest gun. Man-in-the-middle attacks are common place, while credit card PIN crackers lead the pack of cyber outlaws. Neither SSL websites nor the “smart” grid can be considered safe anymore. Lucifer, AKA a social engineer, may dwell on your friend’s list within instant messengers or social sites. Even if you manage to avoid tweeting your intentions, botnets, or clickjackers, the vast frontier of cyberspace is shrinking in regards to your privacy.