The recent focus on hacker group LulzSec, as well as the amorphous Anonymous, has led to renewed scrutiny on the activities of hacktivists and calls for greater protection from them by the authorities; but it is important for future discussion to revolve around corporate and government accountability and transparency as well.
This is an interesting type of story that we hear about in mainstream media every now and then – and that is the finding of security weaknesses in widespread technology, particularly those that deal with financial transactions of one kind or another. This time around, it’s flaws in the Chip-and-PIN technology that is widely used in credit and debit cards throughout Europe and particularly the UK.
If you’re concerned at all about your online privacy, then the recent announcement from Microsoft that it will be lowering IP logging on its search engine Bing to six months will come as welcome news. There has been some concern over Google’s policy of retaining such data for around two years, and Microsoft seems to be directly marketing the difference to those users who are more security aware.
A few simple precautions that one can take to minimise the chances that you personally will be the victim of an unethical individual exploiting your security weaknesses.
 
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