(Update, July 2009: A BusinessWeek article puts the company’s side; maybe I was a little too harsh on them in this post.) This gives you an idea of how bad malware is getting, and how much we’re underestimating it: a U.S.. company that processes credit card transactions has just revealed that malware inside its computers… Read More »
It’s somewhat scary that more than 10 employees of a laboratory that works on security issues (including phishing) could fall for a phishing attack. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, or ORNL, managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by UT-Battelle, works on science and technology involved in energy production and national security. In late October… Read More »
Good grammar is important, whether you’re pitching a story to a journalist or a scam to a dupe. Here are two examples: how not to and how to. First off, a PR pitch that endangers its credibility with an error in the subject line: And now, here’s an example of getting it right: A scam that not only… Read More »
(This is the text of my weekly Loose Wire Service column, syndicated to newspapers like The Jakarta Post. My thanks to Joe Wein for the information that made this column possible.) A lot of people think that online scams happen to other people, but they don’t. They could happen to you. Or a relative, new… Read More »
Indonesia’s Islamic council of ulemas, MUI, has concluded their session with the issuance of the nineteen fatwas, or legal opinion concerning Islamic Law. Contrary to what the non-Muslim world thinks, a fatwa is not a sort of death sentence, although in certain circumstances and for some people they can be. Most are mere clarifications on where… Read More »