Comments: Information Security enters deadly embrace with Social Networking

Why would you need another social network beyond PGP WoT? I have my photo and my contact details there. And also my relations.

Posted by Daniel Nagy at May 27, 2008 05:08 AM

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In my daily life, I try to minimize the amount of unnecessary exposure to risk. Most security professionals do that. I avoid giving out personal details unless absolutely necessary. When asked for ID to enter a building, I give out my British driver's license, not my New York license. I started doing this after a few instances where I handed over my N.Y. ID only to have it scanned into a database without my permission. Once dipped into the scanner, my ID number and a whole host of other information were in a database of unknown security. Both British and N.Y. ID establish identity, but only the N.Y. ID number is used by U.S. banks as a unique individual identifier. Also, I doubt the British ID can be scanned in the same scanners.

I sometimes get asked for a Social Security number by someone who clearly has no valid reason to ask. The most ridiculous example of this was a neighborhood dry cleaner that used the SSN as a convenient "customer number" in its database. In cases like those, I provide a fake SSN (my phone number, minus one digit) -- easy to remember, useless if compromised. Less information about me floating around equals more security for my identity.
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Posted by "Less is more (secure)" by Andreas M. Antonopoulos at May 28, 2008 09:20 AM
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