David Ebo Adjepon-Yamoah
I am a PhD Student at the CSR, School of Computing Science, Newcastle University - UK, and my research interest is in the areas of Cloud Computing & Dependable Software/System Engineering.
Location Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom
Activity
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Hello David! This is a genuine concern. However, that is the reason why we all need to take some measures secure the "gateways" within our reach, and support research in academia and industry to provide technology that will put our security a step ahead in the "arms race".
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There are quite a number of shielding cards out there, Ali. An example is OWL Card Minder: https://owlprotect.uk/rfid-contactless-protection-card-minder-5-pack.html.
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Hello Ali! There are obviously different banking transaction rules for different countries around the world. This then will define the limits placed on such transactions. Something I am keen to also know is how does foreign exchange rates affect such payments. I will provide further information to all these soon.
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You can also change the settings for Amazon 1-Click using: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201459800
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Hello Ifor! You can find a guide to make Amazon payments with PayPal here (https://www.weusepp.com/blogs/paypal-guides/14423857-paypal-amazon). That said, please do explore for a means you are most comfortable with.
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That is a good decision, Victoria! It is always good to be sure when it comes to providing sensitive information.
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Hello Kareth! I think the information given to a payee on a check is quite similar to that given for online payment. However, there is a fair argument that check numbers, signature, and sometimes traces of information from previous check can be obtained or derived from a check.
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Hello Ted, security will be covered to a very good level of detail in the next few days.
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That is a very reasonable recommendation, John!
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Hello Jane, there are some recommended steps provided in a few steps ahead.
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Ideally, when a computing device is disconnected from the internet, and switched off, then we can reliably say that it is inaccessible to hackers. Just as Karen mentioned, if the hackers know what they are doing and armed with good technology, they can access a vast majority of devices connected to the internet.
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I agree with you, Andy. We carry all these devices with us which facilitate either direct or indirect provision of data to organisations and governments.
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You are right, Dylan. Finding the best balance between usability and security is quite tricky.
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You can see the trade-off between usability and security in your example, Dylan :)
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I agree, Francis. It is usually difficult to read the entire "terms and conditions" :)
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Hello Damian, I agree; the devil is quite often in the details :) With regards to your question, I think it is most likely to be a combination of the two points you raise. Here, expenses by such supermarket chains for marketing, identifying customer purchases towards stock-taking, etc. are taking care of in the 5%, and these are some of the official reasons...
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You raise very relevant questions, Doug. I will respond to some and allow other contributions from other learners. I believe in reality, personal data (i.e. sensitive or not) cannot be kept forever. I must say that "forever" is used here in relative terms but the period can be considerably long. People also do not live forever, however information may be...
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That is true, Chris! Some people are "overly generous" with their personal information.
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Good resource, Lucien!
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I agree, Paul! The gap between the pace of technology and practice needs to be looked at very critically.
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David Ebo Adjepon-Yamoah replied to 10+4= 2
You are quite right, Les Hill. Internet users are quickly giving away data and control about themselves. However, users can equip themselves with some know-how in order to control the trade-off between privacy, usability and security. I believe this course fits well as a means of knowledge-sharing for internet users.
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Hello Michael! Your point on 'fail-safe' of the locks is very interesting. After reading further on the locks (i.e. Danalock, Lockitron, and Noke padlock), I have not yet seen any feature to be used to unlock the locks in emergencies. However, I think they would not want to make this information available to the general public (including thieves). So the...
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Hello Steven! About your point on manufacturers being careful from the start, I remembered a hack of a Jeep car whiles it was on the highway (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK0SrxBC1xs). It seems to drive home your point. The intention is to inform and not to scare.
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As per the definition of connected devices (i.e. A connected device is any object which is, in one way or another, connected to the internet), a router also qualifies. They are not used interactively by users compared to other devices, so I understand why people may be reluctant in classifying it as a connected device.
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Hello Nina! That's a very interesting perspective. Since technology is heavily dependent on electricity, the absence of electricity will pose a major challenge to IoT technology. However, the electricity/power grid companies are applying cutting-edge technologies to combine various sources of energy (including green energy) to complement each other and/or...
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Hello Sushant! Since many people use Apple Pay, I believe this article (https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT203027) will be a good read and a good source of technical measures to protect your money.
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That is true, Sandra! It is a challenging situation yet hopeful.
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Hello Michelle! That is a good point you have raised. I am speculating here that after the 2008 economic crunch, many people were very cautious of spending. This was largely influenced by the uncertainty of the market/economy. Also, people invested in safe government bonds, and hence the fluidity of spending was minimised in that time period. As a result,...
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Hello Mike! That is a very good question for a debate. Just as Elisabet mentioned, the arms race will/may never end. So long as there is a constant competition between fraud and counter-technologies, and the basic struggle between good and evil, the arms race will continue. However, the race can be skewed slightly and 'momentarily' for "good" if constant...
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Hi D Khay! Typically, bank cards (VISA, Mastercard, etc.) can be used for transactions in different currencies. They often perform the foreign exchange of the currencies at the prevailing rate (often determined by the bank). The problem here is the enforcement of limits (eg. £30) for each contactless transaction involving different currencies. In your example,...
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Hello Juliet! You can find a brief description of contactless payments in UK at http://www.theukcardsassociation.org.uk/individual/what-is-contactless.asp. As mentioned by Martin, each payment with the contactless cards has a limit of £30. However, the limit for multiple withdrawals/transactions may be defined by the respective banks in line with the type of...
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Hello D Khay! There are various technologies and equipment used for "wire-tapping" phone conversations. However, close proximity to other electronic devices, like telecommunication towers, a television and a radio set can influence the occurrence of such echos, and background noises. I must say that there could be many reasons for such activities on your phone...
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Hi John! Publicized research can work either as a tool for good meaning researchers and practitioners (i.e. enforcers), or for malice. They both "learn" from each other in order to be ahead of the "arms race".
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Hello Allyn! I use the Kaspersky Internet Security app, and it's been quite effective in preventing malware - I think.
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David Ebo Adjepon-Yamoah replied to Dezee K
Hi D Khay! In terms of protecting of your PIN, I found an interesting article (Protecting your card and PIN - http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/contact-and-support/security-centre/card-security) from HSBC with some recommendations. If you think at any point that your PIN has been seen/stolen, you can report it and request for a PIN change. This however is REACTIVE and...
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Hi Yvonne! Visa provides a little bit of information to the merchants regarding the Chip & Pin usage, liability (Liability Shift Policy), etc. here: https://www.visa.com/chip/merchants/grow-your-business/payment-technologies/credit-card-chip/index.jsp. I hope it helps.
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Hi Julian! You raise an interesting point about banks considering how quick enabling technologies leak to the people. I may sound a bit skeptical but so long as there's a human factor in the mix, leakages are inevitable. People can be either "good" or "bad", and innovations can be skewed for good or for bad intents. However, most institutions (GCHQ, Banks,...
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Hi Nicholas,
You raise a very interesting point about an option to "enable" and "disable" contactless payment feature. This feature could at least reassure customers that within a period of time in a day, week, month, etc. there will not be an attack (i.e. man-in-the-middle attack see https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/04/rfid_cards_and.html)....
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Hi Rebecca,
You have an interesting discussion going on here. I must add that Bitcoin can provide "acceptable levels of privacy" when used correctly, but it is not per se anonymous (see https://bitcoin.org/en/protect-your-privacy). A guide to how to use Bitcoin "correctly" towards anonymity is discussed in the provided link.
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Hi Lydia, Barry, and Jill,
You all raise very relevant points bothering on punishments for perpetrators of cyber crime, challenges in enforcing punitive measures across international borders, and tracing data online. As Barry mentioned, such criminals perpetrate these theft across international borders knowing very well that there are different laws...
