And now Citi gets hacked

[MichiganDriver]

The thing that gets me about these hacks isn't that the hackers are able to break in, it's that the information they take is almost always unencrypted. Citi says no social security numbers were taken (at least that's what they're saying for the moment), but even just email addresses is all it takes for phishing scams.

What will it take for companies to start safeguarding our information by encrypting data? Apparently they like government rules, regulations, oversight and penalties. A $10 penalty for every email addy hacked and $100 for every social security number and you can bet the data gets encrypted yesterday.

[Mr. Ford95]

Cuz-in-law has been saying for some time now just how much of a shame it is with these large companies losing valuable personal data of their clients. He said you would expect it with smaller companies, MUCH smaller one's, not national and international companies being hacked. Even the Pentagon has been hacked from overseas if that says anything. He was amazed at that as was his whole dept. in the SS when they started investigating it. They couldn't believe how easy it was.

[Windwalker]

Yeah, but just try to hack the hackers.

Sony has been hacked into twice in the last two months, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Microsoft. Every time I go to my email, I now have to try to read those fancy distorted letters and numbers, and put them into the box. But, I also have the software to be able to do a little hacking of my own. Was thinking about some of those voices from India when you call and ask about your credit card...

Or, maybe that "American Cleric" in Yemen....

[Mr. Ford95]

That is what he sometimes does Wind, hack the hackers. Want to know something even more scary, he's with the SS in like their computer fraud division, they can hack their own office of the SS. No, these guys/gals aren't professional hackers brought into the SS, they have been trained by former hackers. They are forever messing with one another in the office with their hacks. He was telling me one time they had wifi in an area that wifi doesn't work or something, they had routed the signal thru several computers in the office and overseas so when it was traced their computer IP never showed up. The affected co-workers all thought they were being hacked by someone from overseas when it was their co-worker sitting right beside them.

[MichiganDriver]

Funny how we focus on the hacking, like we're trained to do that. It's the James Bond part of it to be sure. What if it's simply impossible to keep the hackers out? I mean with google getting hacked and all, and I'm sure their programming talent is among the best in the world.

So if they can't keep the hackers out, why don't they encrypt the information? I guess it's easier to run ad campaigns telling us all about how much they care than it is to actually care just a little.

[Mr. Ford95]

So if they can't keep the hackers out, why don't they encrypt the information? I guess it's easier to run ad campaigns telling us all about how much they care than it is to actually care just a little.

That would make too much sense for them to do. The WH email has been hacked by someone called an amateur, if THEY can't keep the small fishy's out then the rest of the world has no chance besides encrypting. Actually some have gone to doing that. Blackberry system's seem to be the ONLY cellphone's not hackable at this point which is why the US govt. uses only Blackberry's. They are easy to setup for encryption vs the iPhone for example.

It appears you have kids these days as young as 6-8 that are hacking as good as 25 year olds. It's scary easy if you have somewhat of a brain.

[golfhobo]

Bummer!!!

I was JUST about to take their 0% for 15 months offer.... and transfer the last few thousand of my credit card debt because Discover is soon going to be charging me a fairly high rate for what I didn't get paid off from my 0% transfer to THEM!

I had a card with CITI before.... way before the "crisis." IIRC, they gave me a fair rate (for the times) and almost never hassled me.

Whatever.... I have other offers. But, what difference would it make? They're ALL a bunch of [Republican] CROOKS!

Either way.... like Mal.... I'll have them all paid off by the first of the year, as well as my car loan. I won't be in a postion to buy a truck yet. I'm going for the HOUSE (real estate) investment next year while the rates and prices are so low. I believe I can get a mortgage payment of just 1.5 times my current rent (which is pretty low.) I have the V.A. loan option. Good thing.... cuz I'm one of those "slackers" that don't have the down payment.

I have a good paying job though, and a clean CDL. I only want to buy enough house to finish my life in, and not more than I can afford. I don't HAVE that "second income" so many counted on when they bought their "dream home."

And neither do MOST of them, now!

Ooopps! Sorry for "hacking" this thread!

[GMAN]

Perhaps we need to take our banking business to smaller banks. They don't seem to have the lax security that the major banks do.

[Windwalker]

Well, IMF has been hacked, World Bank has been hacked. And, to make matters even "better"... The US Government is behind software that makes it impossible to detect who is on the internet. Making it much harder to detect just who is doing the hacking. Of course, their intent is for the people in oppressed countries to be able to communicate with the world, without being identified, but the flip-side is that we won't be able to find the ones hacking into our systems either. The same technology goes both ways.

[Mr. Ford95]

Hobo, good plan/investment. One word of advice if your willing to listen, try to be able to put down at least 20% of the cost of the house. Some lenders are asking 25% these days others are asking for 0% down. If you can put a quarter of it down at the start of the loan it will also give you a large reduction in your monthly payments. Good luck with the plan.