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31 August 2009 by Revelator.
From CNET News.com written by Elinor Mills:
“Here’s either a cautionary tale or an example of social-media paranoia. An Arizona man believes that his Twitter messages about going out of town led to a burglary at his home while he was away.
Israel Hyman posted to approximately 2,000 followers on Twitter that he and his wife were “preparing to head out of town,” that they had “another 10 hours of driving ahead” and later, that they “made it to Kansas City.”
When he came home, he found that someone had broken into his house and stolen thousands of dollars worth of video equipment he used for his video business, IzzyVideo.com, which he uses for his Twitter account.
“My wife thinks it could be a random thing, but I just have my suspicions,” he told the Associated Press. “They didn’t take any of our normal consumer electronics.”
Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea to advertise to the world that your home will be unoccupied for a period of time. I also don’t think it’s necessary to reveal too many other personal details on social media sites that could be used for identity fraud, like your birth date.”
A number of thoughts some to mind:
1. Yeah, that was stupid. People are putting waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much on social networking sites. But then we know that already don’t we? Which leads me to my second thought…
2. Most OPSEC professionals, even part-timers, have known this for quite some time now so I have to ask; are we just horrible at spreading the word or are people not listening? Personally, I think it’s both. Awareness is the key here and while some are doing a pretty decent job the majority of us are not. And yeah, I know, why waste the time when you just know people aren’t going to listen to you either way. That’s tough to overcome but you just have to Keep the Faith! and press on.
3. Was it just the tweets or did dude possibly not consider OPSEC and basic security prior to leaving on vacation? We’ve all done the “so you’re going on vacation for two weeks how do you protect your home while you’re away” exercise. (if you haven’t let me know - I’ll send it to you). I suspect he didn’t arrange to deal with his mail, newspaper, growing grass, lights, etc while he was away and just got nabbed by bad guys who know what to look for.
Your fellow employees are counting on us OPSEC and Security professionals to keep them informed and protected. Do your best to inform them and with any luck they can protect themselves.
Keep the Faith!
Revelator
Everything Is Broken - Bob Dylan
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