Vacation Hacking: Data Theft and Financial Fraud Occurs Wherever You Are

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Vacation is supposed to be a time when you finally relax and break away from the demanding pressures of work-a-day life. But with the economy down, and many worried about doing enough to keep their jobs, the increase in computing mobility means that larger than ever numbers of people are taking work with them when they head for the beach. Be honest -- you took your laptop or Blackberry with you, and if nothing else, checked for email while you were away this summer, didn't you?

So maybe you weren't working as you sipped pina coladas on the beach and surfed not on the water, but on your PC. Maybe you were "just shopping", or watching the latest viral videos on YouTube.

So guess what? Ever on top of new trends, fraudsters have spotted a big new vulnerability to capitalize on. Adding another coined phrase to our fraud glossary, Fox News reports, “vacation hacking” is a new avenue for criminals to steal from those who rely on free wifi or unsecured networks while away from the office to get their internet fix.

Beach fraud

Ok, so you aren't one of those clueless tourists walking around with a sign on your back saying "Hack Me". You're a businessperson who's been around the block a few times, you've got AV software and a firewall -- not so easily taken. Really? Have you ever logged on at the airport, trying to squeeze in just a couple more emails before departure?

So-called "white-hat" hackers recently surveyed a number of large airports, discovering what they said was an alarming amount of hacker generated connections. Hackers are now identifying these airport wifi access points as their new hotspots and enticing busy road warriors unaware that they are at risk, to sign on to a hacker’s portal, not just willingly handing over their credit card info, but also leaving their laptop at risk and their information unprotected.

Data breaches, phishing, botnets, spam, fake portals, unsecured networks -- all can be used to steal personal information for fraudulent gain. But what can you do to stop it?

Is there any escape? Is any protection good enough?

Everyone will always tell you ways to make your environment more secure, and build a better barrier to keep the bad from getting in. But that doesn't help much when the bad gets in, nor does it deal with the root of the problem. Just ask Heartland Payment Systems, who thought they had a totally secured PCI DSS compliant environment.

Only part of the problem is lack of security. Another critical part of the problem is the value of what gets stolen. We must re-double efforts to make the stolen data worth less, if not worthless. Make it harder to use. Fully thwart attempts to convert data to cash. Increase the penalties and prosecution efforts such that the perpetrator of the biggest data breach in history faces more than a couple slaps on the wrist and a cushy job as informant for the secret service.

Become more aware of what makes us vulnerable, and stop depending on technical solutions that no one understands and which often increase complacency and therefore the probability of loss.

Simple solution: address the problem at its source

The solution as I see it is two-fold:

1. Educate users about risk, and what to look out for -- what makes something suspicious and why you shouldn't hand over a social security number when someone calls asking for it, for example
2. Stop financial fraud at source, by getting banks, card issuers, card processors, anti-fraud vendors and the targeted merchants all working together to provide a backstop when security fails

Simple right?

Take the poll

Let us know what you think. More security? Better fraud detection? Stiffer penalties? Simplicity? Less technology? Collaboration? Smarter users? What is going to help us gain control of things?

Take our poll, and after you hit the button, you'll see a graph of the compiled results. And, if your answer isn't on the list, give us your solution in the comments below.

Aren't you glad that summer vacation is almost over and you're back to work?