For our data privacy and computer security resources, click here. For a basic reading list on information security, check this one on Amazon. For a reading list on privacy, try my colleague Ray's list on Amazon. For a computer security classic, try Cobb's Guide to PC & LAN Security (May 2001 reprint). For the latest anti-spam technology, check out TurnTide. For disaster recovery planning and consulting, see Contingenz. |
Okay, we admit it, this news page is not up-to-date...here are some links that are fresher: Dare Not Walk Alone -- the movie blog and Cobbsblog -- the main blog These days Stephen is working for Monetate with David Brussin (from InfoSec Labs and ePrivacy Group). The biggest site news in 2007 was that cobb.com changed to cobbsblog.com. If you are trying to find something that was at cobb.com, try changing the domain name in the URL to cobbsblog.com. And if you are trying to reach Stephen Cobb by email, use scobb at scobb dot net.
Things aren't getting any better. Will 2005 be the year consumers abandon the Internet? See our NewsScan column and comments reported in NetWork World. The answer just might licensing of Internet users as operators. See Operators Wanted. Consumers will lose faith in the web: Rising tide of fraud and abuse reaching critical levels, warns security expert: http://www.vnunet.com/News/1152405 Cobbs Point Out a Dangerous Security Misconception When holes like this [latest Microsoft Windows security hole] are revealed to the public, you often see statements along these lines: "The company is not aware of any systems having been compromised because of this hole." Such statements are a waste of breath. Let's be frank, if folk were too dumb to know the hole was there, they sure as heck aren't smart enough to know whether or not it was exploited. Besides, do they really mean they have retroactively examined all systems that have the hole, back to the day that it was introduced, and come up with a clean bill of health? More... Cobb on "Phishing" in Dow Jones and Associated Press When a reporter from Dow Jones called for perspective on the rash of fraudulent emails attempting to steal personal information, here's what we said: "We are seeing a lot of this, and it's been my contention that this is one of the biggest threats to brands and consumer confidence that we've seen over the Internet. It's very distressing [to consumers], and it can't help but have an impact on your assessment, not necessarily of the bank, but of online banking with the bank. -- See the related article in Information Week, August 19, 2003. Cobb Applauds Spam Decision, But Says Effect on Spam Volume May Be Limited New York, NY -- January 24 - Yesterday's decision in the MonsterHut spam case brought by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was praised today by Stephen Cobb, a leading privacy expert and author of the recently published "Privacy for Business: Web Sites and Email." In the decision, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lottie E. Wilkins made it clear that deceptive claims about the "opt-in" basis of email are illegal (click here for more on the case). "The court has done consumers a great service," says Cobb. However, he cautions that the ruling is unlikely to reduce spam volume, which already represents close to half of all email traffic. "A lot of spam is sent by people who are either outside U.S. jurisdiction or have little regard for U.S. law." According to Cobb, laws and legal decisions will have little impact on spam until improvements in email technology enable compliance to be enforced. "I'm not referring to spam-filtering, helpful as that may be at the moment," says Cobb, "but technology that enables consumers to rely on the identity of email senders, and hold them accountable to some form of independent trust authority." Cobb envisions a time when email users will only receive
messages from friends, family, and organizations they trust. "Companies
that provide Internet and email service, and organizations that make
legitimate use of email, all have a tremendous incentive to elevate
email to a new level; and technology can make that possible, without
people having to share their personal information or preferences with
anyone." |
