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So I'm pretty ignorant to the history of personal identity/credit breaches, but for those who aren't, is this only getting to get worse? More and more companies

So I'm pretty ignorant to the history of personal identity/credit breaches, but for those who aren't, is this only getting to get worse? More and more companies are holding more and more data, to the point that these breaches seem to affect so many people. I entered the credit card game pretty recently, and almost immediately I'm affected by the Equifax breach. As a young person, this doesn't make the future of privacy/security seem so promising.

cm2187 9y ago
Someone should plot them to get an idea of how worse things are getting but it feels like we had one major data breach nearly every week for about 3 years now.
joe_the_user 9y ago
As it says in the article, this should get better once chips become standard. At that point, the chip will be doing something like an encrypted transaction with the bank, so listening in on any stage of the transaction shouldn't matter (not that I have any details on the process).
losteric 9y ago
The news looks bad, but reality is worse. Remember that huge trove of NSA hacking tools and exploits that dumped last year? And the numerous follow-up dumps? There are LOTS of new weapons in the hands of everyone from everyday script kiddies to organized crime to enemy nations. It's possible Equifax was the only credit agency with enough information to require public disclosure... if Transunion doesn't have the right logs or monitors, they may never find out they've been breached, and nor will we. At this point, I assume everything on a computer can become public.
- noir_lord 9y ago
  I've operated under the assumption that anything that leaves my computer will eventually become public since the 90's. One of the few times I don't enjoy been right, I'm fortunate in that I'm vanilla, FSM help people under repressive regimes or who hold opinions that worry those in authority wherever they are. We managed to combine a panopticon with a Skinner box somehow and people like it because it's shiny.
- KGIII 9y ago
  No computer system, or even individual computer that has the ability to be turned on, is 100% safe. Every system can be compromised, if the attackers have enough time and resources. So, your last sentence is true. However, there are ways to secure things in a practical manner and ways to detect, and stop, intrusions - though those ways look nothing like they do in the movies. There are practical ways to limit exposure and to make data exfiltration more difficult. There are layers and practices that can be put in place to make it more difficult to do and easier to notice. They are expensive and they do impact efficiency and may impact efficacy. The easiest way to avoid data exfiltration is to not store it in the first place. But, that means they are less able to track the consumer and then less able to do effective targeting of ads and things like that. The bottom line is it is expensive to reasonably secure your systems and the penalty for not doing so is less than the profits being made from not securing their systems in a reasonable manner. Without larger penalties, this is unlikely to change. Maybe, just maybe, enough people will be impacted to where they actually start imposing serious penalties for negligence or willfully neglecting security. Maybe...
- adjkant 9y ago
  This talk seems to always be relevant: https://vimeo.com/135347162 https://vimeo.com/135347162 Abstract: In this bleak, relentlessly morbid talk, James Mickens will describe why making computers secure is an intrinsically impossible task. He will explain why no programming language makes it easy to write secure code. He will then discuss why cloud computing is a black hole for privacy, and only useful for people who want to fill your machine with ads, viruses, or viruses that masquerade as ads. At this point in the talk, an audience member may suggest that Bitcoins can make things better. Mickens will laugh at this audience member and then explain why trusting the Bitcoin infrastructure is like asking Dracula to become a vegan. Mickens will conclude by describing why true love is a joke and why we are all destined to die alone and tormented. The first ten attendees will get balloon animals, and/or an unconvincing explanation about why Mickens intended to (but did not) bring balloon animals. Mickens will then flee on horseback while shouting “The Prince of Lies escapes again!”
  - randycupertino 9y ago
    That is the most hilarious abstract I have ever read in my life.
    - adjkant 9y ago
      The talk itself is just as funny too, please do watch it fully. It's not chock full of evidence, but it has some good points and some great entertainment.
  - willis77 9y ago
    I don't know who this James Mickens fellow is, but I like the cut of his jib.

cm2187 9y ago

Someone should plot them to get an idea of how worse things are getting but it feels like we had one major data breach nearly every week for about 3 years now.

joe_the_user 9y ago

As it says in the article, this should get better once chips become standard. At that point, the chip will be doing something like an encrypted transaction with the bank, so listening in on any stage of the transaction shouldn't matter (not that I have any details on the process).

losteric 9y ago

The news looks bad, but reality is worse. Remember that huge trove of NSA hacking tools and exploits that dumped last year? And the numerous follow-up dumps? There are LOTS of new weapons in the hands of everyone from everyday script kiddies to organized crime to enemy nations. It's possible Equifax was the only credit agency with enough information to require public disclosure... if Transunion doesn't have the right logs or monitors, they may never find out they've been breached, and nor will we. At this point, I assume everything on a computer can become public.

noir_lord 9y ago
I've operated under the assumption that anything that leaves my computer will eventually become public since the 90's. One of the few times I don't enjoy been right, I'm fortunate in that I'm vanilla, FSM help people under repressive regimes or who hold opinions that worry those in authority wherever they are. We managed to combine a panopticon with a Skinner box somehow and people like it because it's shiny.
KGIII 9y ago
No computer system, or even individual computer that has the ability to be turned on, is 100% safe. Every system can be compromised, if the attackers have enough time and resources. So, your last sentence is true. However, there are ways to secure things in a practical manner and ways to detect, and stop, intrusions - though those ways look nothing like they do in the movies. There are practical ways to limit exposure and to make data exfiltration more difficult. There are layers and practices that can be put in place to make it more difficult to do and easier to notice. They are expensive and they do impact efficiency and may impact efficacy. The easiest way to avoid data exfiltration is to not store it in the first place. But, that means they are less able to track the consumer and then less able to do effective targeting of ads and things like that. The bottom line is it is expensive to reasonably secure your systems and the penalty for not doing so is less than the profits being made from not securing their systems in a reasonable manner. Without larger penalties, this is unlikely to change. Maybe, just maybe, enough people will be impacted to where they actually start imposing serious penalties for negligence or willfully neglecting security. Maybe...
adjkant 9y ago
This talk seems to always be relevant: https://vimeo.com/135347162 https://vimeo.com/135347162 Abstract: In this bleak, relentlessly morbid talk, James Mickens will describe why making computers secure is an intrinsically impossible task. He will explain why no programming language makes it easy to write secure code. He will then discuss why cloud computing is a black hole for privacy, and only useful for people who want to fill your machine with ads, viruses, or viruses that masquerade as ads. At this point in the talk, an audience member may suggest that Bitcoins can make things better. Mickens will laugh at this audience member and then explain why trusting the Bitcoin infrastructure is like asking Dracula to become a vegan. Mickens will conclude by describing why true love is a joke and why we are all destined to die alone and tormented. The first ten attendees will get balloon animals, and/or an unconvincing explanation about why Mickens intended to (but did not) bring balloon animals. Mickens will then flee on horseback while shouting “The Prince of Lies escapes again!”
- randycupertino 9y ago
  That is the most hilarious abstract I have ever read in my life.
  - adjkant 9y ago
    The talk itself is just as funny too, please do watch it fully. It's not chock full of evidence, but it has some good points and some great entertainment.
- willis77 9y ago
  I don't know who this James Mickens fellow is, but I like the cut of his jib.