Crimeware

Research in applied security, from mobile malware detection to improved user interfaces.

by Markus Jakobsson

Dr. Markus Jakobsson is a leading voice in advising on advancements in understanding phishing, crimeware and mobile security. He specializes in research around applied security, ranging from mobile malware detection to improved user interfaces. He is Principal Scientist at PayPal, and CTO/co-founder of FatSkunk, a San Diego based mobile malware startup. Dr. Jakobsson has authored numerous books and more than 100 peer-reviewed conference and journal articles. In 2012, he released two books: The Death of the Internet and Mobile Authentication: Problems and Solutions. He holds more than 50 patents and more than 100 pending patents.

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How to build a better password: Be less predictable

Posted Sep 20, 2013 - 11:36 am

When users are forced to include both upper case and lower case, as well as numerals and special characters, what do they do? They meet those requirements in the ways that are easiest for them to remember. But there is a better way.
Security, passwords, secure passwords
When friendly 'from' names become enemies

Posted Sep 05, 2013 - 11:55 am

How friendly email from names, smartphones, and social media create a perfect opportunity for social engineering scams.
Security, fraud, Mobile Security
Sarah Palin goes the way of Paris Hilton

Posted Sep 19, 2008 - 12:15 pm

Wednesday, it was reported that Sarah Palin's Yahoo account was hacked by a perpetrator wishing to find incriminating information in her emails. It was not done using some strange computer security vulnerability. It was not done by guessing her password. It was done just in the same way as Paris Hilton's T-Mobile account was hacked some time ago: by guessing the answers to security questions.
Security, email, Paris Hilton
How Herbert Thompson stole his friend's identity

Posted Aug 22, 2008 - 01:27 pm

This is a great account of how easy it is to break into people's accounts.
Security, data mining, gmail
What you always wanted to know about malware (but were afraid to ask)

Posted Aug 21, 2008 - 09:07 pm

Malware, like real-world epidemics, has the strange property that it does not only matter to your health how well protected you are, but also, how well average people "out there" are. The more machines that are infected, the higher is your risk of also becoming infected. But that is not all: You are at risk even if you are well protected!
Security, botnet, malware
Why no news is bad news -- at least when it comes to malware

Posted Aug 19, 2008 - 08:55 pm

Once upon a time, malware authors wrote code to infect thousands of machines for entertainment and intellectual stimulation. Today, it's all about the money, and the greatest threat may lie in the silence, making a far more dangerous landscape.
Security, malware, silence
Google Tech talk on Password Reset

Posted Aug 15, 2008 - 12:35 am

In a recent post, I described the problems with password reset, and how current password reset questions can be attacked. Watch my recent Google Tech talk on this subject...
Security, Google, password
What is worse than reusing passwords?

Posted Aug 12, 2008 - 09:22 pm

Think your password resets are secure? Think again. The city you grew up in and your mother's maiden name can be derived from public records. Facebook might unwittingly tell the name of your best friend. And, until quite recently, Ford with its 25% market share had a pretty good chance of being the brand of your first car!
Security, fraud, password
Forty-one million stolen credit cards is just the beginning

Posted Aug 07, 2008 - 12:55 pm

Federal prosecutors have charged 11 people with stealing 41 million credit cards, obtained by wardriving. The criminals drove around and scanned wireless networks for vulnerabilities, then installed sniffers that stole credit card information. Was this kind of attack inevitable? I believe it was. And we have more coming.
Security, epidemic, pharming
Google knows who you are

Posted Aug 05, 2008 - 10:47 am

Search engines and ISPs know who you are and where you've been. Phishers and advertisers do too. But can the average Joe learn this about you? Yes -- for good and bad.
Security, advertising, browser

October is...
Unified Communications Month

BY THE NUMBERS: UC&C

HOW-TO: Look alive and professional in Web meetings

TIP: Use your cell phone as a WiFi VOIP phone

TOOLBOX: Six alternative tools for small business collaboration

CASE STUDY: Enterprise social network moves ad agency into the future

Microsoft's Security Essentials isn't the best antivirus program, according to Microsoft

2 comments
AMD pushes forward with new video cards and a few surprises

2 comments
Change Microsoft Office 2013's default search engine from Bing to Google

2 comments
See - and hear - what it was like to surf the web 20 years ago

1 comment
Valve completes its trifecta of announcements with the Steam Controller

1 comment

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