identity
39 pieces
Field Guide to AI, Security and Cybercrime
AI Agents Are a New Kind of Insider
Insider-threat programmes look for a person with a motive. An agent holds the same access with no motive at all, and can be turned by what it reads.
Opinion · 7 min
BragJack: How a Browser Extension Hijacks Your AI Assistant's Trust
A malicious browser extension can impersonate the trusted channel between your AI assistant and its vendor, gaining its elevated privileges.
Opinion · 6 min
MCP Authorization Attacks: Stolen OAuth Credentials, Tokens and Scopes
How malicious servers abuse OAuth discovery and token handling to steal agent identities.
Opinion · 8 min
Privacy in Public When Every Street Has a Camera
You cannot avoid being seen, but you can limit how easily scattered recordings are joined into a permanent record of you.
Opinion · 9 min
Proving Who You Are Online Without Handing Over Your Face
Authentication confirms you are the same person; identity proofing demands who you are. Most services need only the first, and passkeys do it best.
Opinion · 10 min
Recovering From Identity Theft: The Order That Matters
Creditors respond to paperwork, not distress. A methodical sequence of steps is your fastest path to resolution.
Opinion · 7 min
SIM Swap Attacks: How Someone Takes Your Phone Number
A criminal persuades your mobile operator to move your number to their SIM, then uses the text messages sent to it to hijack your digital life.
Opinion · 8 min
Someone Made a Deepfake of You: What to Do First
The first hours decide whether a fake video or cloned voice stays contained or spreads. Most of the right moves are dull, and they work.
Opinion · 6 min
Synthetic Identity Fraud: Credit for a Person Who Never Existed
A real identifier, an invented name, and years of good behaviour, followed by one afternoon of borrowing everything at once.
Opinion · 7 min
Verifying the Identity of an AI Agent You Cannot See
When an AI acts on your behalf, how does a third party know it's authorised and not a spoof?
Opinion · 8 min
When Biometric Login Fails: The Identity Lockout Problem
Biometric systems promise effortless security, but a change to your face or finger can permanently lock you out of your own accounts.
Opinion · 7 min
A Family Safe Word Against AI Voice Scams: Designing One That Holds
Most safe words fail because they are guessable, never rehearsed, or spoken on the channel the attacker controls.
Opinion · 9 min
Account Recovery Is Your Real Password: How to Audit It
Attackers choose the weakest way back into an account, and that is rarely the login screen.
Opinion · 8 min
AI Shopping Agents: The Missing Proof You Approved the Purchase
Card protections assume a human clicked buy; delegated agents break that assumption.
Opinion · 8 min
Are AI Browsers Safe? The Logged-In Session Problem
An agent that browses as you inherits every account you are signed in to.
Opinion · 9 min
Charity Scams After Disasters: How to Verify Before Donate
Fake appeals surge after crises. Learn how to verify charities and donate safely to avoid funding fraudsters.
Opinion · 9 min
Deepfake Job Candidates: Remote Hiring Is Now an Identity Problem
The interview has become an authentication step, and most hiring teams never designed it as one.
Opinion · 9 min
Deepfake-as-a-Service: Fraud Tools Now Come With Support
Face swaps, voice clones and fake documents are packaged for criminals who cannot build them.
Opinion · 8 min
Digital Legacy: Planning Your Accounts and Photos After Death
Setting up legacy contacts and password inheritance ensures your family can access or close accounts without legal gridlock.
Opinion · 9 min
Email Aliases and Burner Numbers: Everyday Privacy Tools
Masked emails and temporary phone numbers reduce spam and tracking, but they do not hide your identity from determined adversaries.
Opinion · 10 min
Hacked Instagram Account? Avoid the Recovery Scammers First
The moment you post about being hacked, you attract a second wave of fraud.
Opinion · 10 min
Help Desk Social Engineering: The Password Reset Phone Call
A convincing caller asking IT for a reset has become the easiest way past strong authentication.
Opinion · 8 min
How to Know If Your Phone Is Hacked: Signs That Actually Matter
Battery drain and heat are mostly noise; account-level evidence is where compromise shows.
Opinion · 8 min
How to Protect Elderly Parents From Scams Without Taking Over
Controls that preserve autonomy work better than warnings and better than taking the chequebook.
Opinion · 10 min
How to Tell If a Voice Call Is an AI Clone (Your Ear Cannot)
Listening harder for robotic artifacts is a losing game; the defence is moving verification off the call.
Opinion · 8 min
Infostealer Malware: Why a Stolen Cookie Beats a Stolen Password
After an infostealer, changing passwords is not enough; sessions must be killed everywhere.
Opinion · 9 min
Initial Access Brokers: The Market Behind a Ransomware Attack
The intrusion you suffer was often bought, and your leaked logins set the price.
Opinion · 8 min
Insider Threat in Remote Teams: Signals Without Surveillance
Watching access and data movement works better than watching employees.
Opinion · 9 min
Kids' Gaming Account Scams: Free Currency, Stolen Skins, Lost Accounts
A child's game account holds items that sell for real money, which is why it is hunted like a bank login.
Opinion · 8 min
Non-Human Identities: The Credentials Nobody Owns
Service accounts, API keys and tokens outnumber people, and most have no owner or expiry.
Opinion · 8 min
Phishing Kits That Bypass MFA: A Subscription Business
Adversary-in-the-middle phishing is sold with dashboards, updates and support.
Opinion · 8 min
Phone Stolen? The First 30 Minutes, in Order
Thieves who watched your passcode are after your accounts, not the handset.
Opinion · 8 min
Rental Scams: Fake Listings, Absent Landlords and Lost Deposits
The fake listing is a copy of a real one; what gives it away is who controls the keys and how they want paying.
Opinion · 7 min
Setting Up a Child's First Phone: Contact Controls Before Content
The biggest risk on a first phone is who can reach the child, not what they might see.
Opinion · 8 min
Should You Freeze Your Credit? Why a Freeze Beats Monitoring
Monitoring tells you after the fraud; a freeze stops most of it before it starts, for free.
Opinion · 10 min
Smart Glasses and Facial Recognition: Privacy for the People in View
Consent designs built around the wearer ignore everyone the camera looks at.
Opinion · 10 min
What Your Stolen Identity Sells For, and Why It Is So Cheap
Low prices for stolen records reflect oversupply, not low harm.
Opinion · 8 min
When AI Agents Talk to Each Other, Who Is in Charge?
Delegation chains can launder a stranger's instruction into something that looks authorised.
Opinion · 9 min
Zero Trust Explained Without the Vendor Pitch
Zero trust is a set of per-request decisions, and one stolen laptop tests whether you have it.
Opinion · 8 min