Protecting against Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFID data attacks

Being that identity theft in America is exploding, reaching approximately 8 million cases a year now I believe, I figured it might be useful to post this article (with video) detailing ways to avoid such crimes. The article is based on a presentation by a security expert (and hacker) at the Last HOPE hacker conference, in which he details how most people are at risk and don't even know it...

CNet news reports (for his recommentations read the article in its entirety):

Using a laptop, cell phone headset, building access badge, credit cards, or even a passport can make you a walking target for data thieves and other criminals...

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By now most people probably know they should be careful using Wi-Fi networks, especially public hotspots that don't encrypt data transmissions and where network access points can be spoofed. These issues leave Web surfers at risk of having their data stolen, receiving fake Web pages and other information, and having their computers completely taken over, he said.

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Bluetooth headset users are at risk because of a security hole in the technology and default PINs that don't get changed, he said. Exploiting vulnerabilities someone can break in and steal data from the phones, make calls without the cell phone owner knowing, listen in on and break into conversations, and even spy on people by turning the device into a bug.

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Many people don't realize that new U.S. passports have RFID technology with weak encryption that makes the data on the chip easy to read with the proper reader device. (See related video below). The U.S. government attempted to mitigate the privacy threat by putting a metal foil layer on the front and back cover of the passports, but the stiffness of the foil pops the passport open as much as an inch, wide enough for RFID readers to snatch the data, RenderMan said, showing a video to demonstrate this.

Click here to read the hacker's suggestions for each of the above privacy threats.