Footprinting Criminals

Yup.  You read that right.  Not fingerprint, footprint.

Defining Your Digital Footprint

Your digital footprint, little crumbs left on the internet by your activities, is quickly become a useful tool for security agencies to track (or trap) you.  Law enforcement officials comb through oodles of data generated from your browsing history, cell phone location history, social media feeds, purchasing habits and in some cases, even your email to build a unique digital profile of you.

Officials assess the volume, variety, veracity and velocity of the information gathered in building a detailed profile.

Using Your Digital Footprint

With that profile, officials (and marketers) can assess your proclivity to participate in criminal activities, build a case to prosecute you after the fact, and in some cases stop you from being a menace to society.

Not all the data generated and analysed is within your control.  You interact with countless external databases which also collect and collate information on your patterns.  Consider CCTV, police body cameras, licence plate readers, facial recognition and drone cameras.  The Jamaican police have all these sources at their disposal.  Even the once old school finger print has gone digital thanks to the Automated Finger Information System (AFIS).

Governments use legislation (like the Patriot Act in the US), government agencies use advanced software and local police use warrants to legitimately access to what once was your private data.  Of course, in some cases coercion and deception are included in the tool kit.

Limiting Your Digital Footprint

And in many cases, “they” are getting exactly what they want.  The sheer volume of data is a limiting factor; even with the most sophisticated algorithms, parsing through terabytes of data takes time and produces false results costing more time.  End to end encryption for email and messaging, the dark web and increasing savvy internet users are also collectively slowing the data capture process; not to mention the (public) refusal of some tech companies to play nice and build back doors.

The adage, if you have nothing to hide means you have nothing to worry about, is simply not true.  Data is data.  It can be interpreted or manipulated in various ways.  Protecting your data from rouge government agencies and corrupt law enforcement is just as important as protecting your data from criminals and the process is the same.

That said, that doesn’t mean that I advocate the hindrance of lawful searches to give aide to security professionals.  It’s a complicated world.  Someone else is watching your digital footprint right now, and you should be watching it too.



Tech4Life airs on @RJR94FM every Wednesday morning at 8:15 am.

T4L - New Age Protection

I am updating my being safe online tips.  After all, it is a new year and there are new threats out there.  What worked last year simply may not be enough for 2015.  So here goes; make some time to not only read but action these safety steps.

Step 1: Back up, run anti-virus, back up again
Do it now, do it again and again.  Only the first back up is hard, each subsequent back up is incremental and therefore doesn’t take much time.  Backing up is your first and best defense against data loss which can happen for more reasons than I have space to mention.  Many systems can automate the process to an external drive or cloud service, so your only excuse is .. none.

Make sure that you download, install, run and update a good anti-malware programme, even for your mobile device.  Get rid of or prevent viruses, adware, spyware and other wares designed to destroy your life.

Step 2: Set Strong Unique Passwords
Passwords can be a pain, but they are also your first line of defense against attacks.  Forget the old rules, passwords now need to be longer than eight characters, need not be a recognizable word and need to be unique for each account.  Yes, you read that right - each account.  Since remembering scores of complicated passwords would be too much, it is time to breakout a good password manager to keep things in check.

Step 3: Secure Everything
It can be tempting to jump on a free WiFi hotspot, skip the hassle of configuring a firewall or browsing quickly through unsecured websites, but try to remember how temptation worked out for Eve.

Take a moment to set up a new password on your home wireless router and all internet enabled devices like IP cameras.  Take a moment to set up a firewall on your ‘outer, turn off Discovery and disable file sharing, especially if you plan to log on to public WiFi.

Step 4: Avoid Scams
Certainly it is not recommended that you click on links in email, but if you do, make sure there is a little lock showing in your browser window confirming that the site is secure.

Speaking of security, secure your credit card by using a dedicated ‘online card’ issued by your bank, a one time/pre-paid card or a service like Paypal to create a safety zone around your prized plastic.

Online email services like Google, Yahoo! and Outlook all offer built in virus scanners to reduce the likelihood of nefarious downloads, but it is good to remain vigilant.

Step 5: Repeat
Yes, repeat.  Continuous protection requires continuos updating.

Here’s to a safe 2015!

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday @ 8:15am on RJR94FM