Schneier on Security

Wow! Might be onto something here...

Quite Funny.

It demonstrates rather well that there really isn't such a thing as "Identity Theft," only theft and credit fraud. Otherwise we'd have to start calling house burglaries Identity Theft, as well...

They also have a protocol to protect credit card data called "Numberwang".

Maybe people shouldn't rely on being a slave and use cash instead of debt.

Spot on. Your identity is the answer to the question, of all the people who ever lived which one are you? You can be impersonated, but the only way to take your identity would be to take your life. When the bank or other business lets themselves get swindled, they try to make it your problem.

@lattera
"Maybe people shouldn't rely on being a slave and use cash instead of debt."

How does that stop someone impersonating you or running up bills in your name?

Absolutely nothing.

@Alan,

It'd help lower your digital fingerprint, making you less of a target.

*Ahem*

Please reference my comment entry here:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/11/synthetic_ident.html

See: "*FUNNY* British Comedy" entry about 7 entries down from "November 5, 2007 8:57 AM"

Sadly overlooked at the time... sniff...

Steve (UK) ;-)

*Ahem*

Please reference my comment entry here:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/11/synthetic_ident.html

See: "*FUNNY* British Comedy" entry about 7 entries down from "November 5, 2007 8:57 AM"

Sadly overlooked at the time... sniff...

Steve (UK) ;-)

*Ahem*

Please reference my comment entry here:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/11/synthetic_ident.html

Which introduces this very piece.

See: "*FUNNY* British Comedy" entry about 7 entries down from "November 5, 2007 8:57 AM"

Sadly overlooked at the time... sniff...

Steve (UK) ;-)

WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
All they want is your money and they don't care if you are dead or alive. The thieves, the law, the banks, whoever. They're all the same. It's like some sort of human liquidation sale and everything is up for grabs.

"a man who bought a condominium, sightunseen, at a sheriff's sale in Warminster, Bucks County, found the badly decomposed corpse of the former owner in the living room along with three years' worth of mail." Pgh. Post Gazette

I guess the taxes were late!

I know that it doesn't make much sense, but think about it!

It does not matter. All the goods are in a vault, not stored on some server. All the oil is in the ground and people are grinding away at computers to push up the price. It's all more trouble than it's worth and can't be secured. The upside is you have the worlds biggest game platform, paid for by dumb corporations. Have fun kids! The real world runs on ink and paper.

Oooops!

Apologies for my earlier comment post appearing 3 times (now I come over as a madman desperate to be heard!)
When posting there were (apparently) problems with the mechanism appearing to time out and fail... yet actually it seems it was working OK.

Steve (UK).

"we'd have to start calling house burglaries Identity Theft"

only if the house burglary used an identity (authentication/authorization) to bypass the control system. for example, if they impersonated someone living in the house in order to gain entry.

if the burglar breaks a window/door to get in, then there is no identity theft case. even if they pick the lock or steal a key, there is no case for identity theft. those both are control failures unrelated to identity theft.

@ Steve (UK),

"When posting there were (apparently) problems with the mechanism appearing to time out and fail... yet actually it seems it was working OK."

Yup it happens to me as well 8(

And no I don't think it's the blog site thats at fault. After a little investigation I have found the problem (in my case) is down to using a "mobile phone provider" for my internet connection and the way they cache things...

The solution in my case is after a post if I get an error message, I press preview button and scroll down the resulting page. If my post is at the bottom I have no need to re-post.

@ Clive Robinson

Thanks for the reassurance, explanation and top-tip!
:-)

Steve (UK)

....what is this "cash" that you refer to? ;)