Tag: hackers

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking them for their broadened mobile tech unit and for the internet of things.

The FTC is responsible for the oversight of a broad range of different operations that investigate tech practices of companies, looking into issues such as data security and privacy and is now looking for hackers for areas such as wearable technology, mobile tech, and for the internet of things.

The Mobile Technology Unit (MTU) isn’t anything new at the FTC, but it is seeing a sizeable expansion.

The MTU performs independent investigations into a range of different components of the mobile environment. Recently, a number of the efforts of this unit were placed in the spotlight as it worked to spread awareness of the perceived dangers between certain mobile apps and their use by young children, in addition to the types of overall risks that are connected with mobile commerce activities. The tech under the FTC’s oversight is rapidly evolving and it must now keep an eye on everything from wearable technology to entire smart households.

As wearable technology and the internet of things come into play, the MTU has undergone its own evolution.

In this, the MTU is now being converted into the Office of Technology Research and Investigation (OTRI), and it will be experiencing a massive expansion of its role. It will now be overseeing wearables, smart homes, connected vehicles, mobile payment methods, and anything else that can be defined in a way that it would be categorized as a part of the internet of things.

Along with expansion, the FTC is looking to boost its staff with people who would be capable of hacking into each of those various forms of consumer technology. It is also on the lookout for a full time position that would be responsible for the coordination of all of the projects that would result from the OTRI research. There is also a two-year research fellowship being made available to recent grads with the right combination of policy and tech education.

These latest moves by the FTC are a reflection of the pace and size of the growth of wearable technology and other connected devices in homes, vehicles and on our very person.

In the virtual world of Internet, hacker can attack without any prior notice that means anywhere at any time and anyone can become the victim of the online threats. Being bankrupt by hackers, blacklisted due to malware attacks and such can be the worst nightmares.

There are plenty of things, one should take care of while using internet. Avoiding even the smallest of the mistake may lead to a huge loss. Security begins at home. Yes, it is the new saying. If you want to work safely on the Internet there are some ground rules to be follow in order to ensure the security.

Following are the FOUR mistakes one should definitely avoid:

Not concealing your social activities

Limit the exposure of your private data on the social websites, says Brad Gobble, senior manager of information security at Mozy, which provides online backup service. Avoid entering of full name, age or residence addresses. As far as the sharing of the images are concerned, Gobble warns not to share images displaying your car’s number plate or house’s number or the street address.

Not encrypting the data

According to Gobble, data is as precious as gold and money and that too is easy for the intruders to steal or corrupt it. Along with securing the devices with passwords, one should also prefer securing the sensitive files with encryption. Avoid using similar passwords for multiple devices. Keep your passwords strong enough to crack use Lower-Upper case letters, numbers and special characters. Separate devices should be guard with separate passwords.

Failing to update your software

Normally many of us (including me) never pay attention to the alerts of the version updates of the software or the apps. However, this carelessness may prove damn severe sometimes. Software or the apps become outdated with the release of the latest version. Developers being so expert in their field after all are the human beings, even they can make mistakes, and hence when these mistakes are fixed they release an updated version of the software. So be in touch of such updates and download from time to time in order to avoid the unwanted circumstances.

Avoid online transaction with non-SSL secured websites

Before you buy any product or do any online transaction, check whether the website or application is secured by SSL certificate or not. It is very important that the payment information traverse between local machines to server should be encrypted. This is where the SSL certificate helps, it encrypt data with high security algorithm and will save you from man in middle attack.

Next time, whenever you use any website or web application, check for given points. It may save you from possible cyber threat.

About Author:

Peggy is Head of Sales and marketing division of theSSLshop. Her vast knowledge domain consists of expertise in marketing of security products with the help of Organic Search Marketing, Paid Search Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Blogging and ecommerce Website Marketing. Click here to find her Google+, Twitter and Linkedin profiles.