Technology Tuesday

Is our tech-enabled society safer for the capabilities tech brings us in the fields of crime prevention and intervention, like through-the-Web maps to track down kidnappers? Or are we less safe because of the ease with which authenticity is counterfeited, like a phishing scam that uses a bank’s logo? Perhaps most technology is neutral and it’s how we—individually and as a society—use it that dictates its benefit or harm. Whether we’re recording a video via our mobile devices or updating our blogs, our tech-enabled actions have implications. As always, I advocate education as a principle means of crime prevention. With all that in mind, here are some recent stories you might have missed, all with a technology twist.

All A’Twitter About Scams

Do you Twitter? Do you know how to identify phishing scams? If you answered “yes” to the first question and shrugged at the second, check out CNET’s story on a phishing scam that targets users of Twitter, the popular micro-blogging service: Twitter phishing scam may be spreading.

If words like “Twitter” and “phishing” resonate with you less than “luddite,” spend a couple minutes watching the excellent videos by Common Craft: check out Twitter in Plain English and Phishing Scams in Plain English. After watching the latter, leave a comment for me about other ways you have seen tech employed for crime prevention through education!

Trick or Tweet?

So far, it’s been a rough 2009 for Twitter! Wired writes Weak Password Brings 'Happiness' to Twitter Hacker. It was originally suspected that big names (including President-elect Obama) fell for the phishing scam described above, but it turns out that the account of a Twitter administrator was compromised by an 18-year-old hacker. The hacker gained access to the victim’s account via a fairly basic technique. Remember to use strong (and different!) passwords for all the services you use (and especially those services you administer)!

Warning: You Can’t Un-Watch the Video

The Washington Post reports YouTube Clips Unveil Oakland Shooting. While the police investigation is open, the YouTube-visiting public is already forming an opinion based on the amateur video footage. KTVU TV showed the video in its coverage of the story but warned viewers, “You may find the video disturbing to watch and may want to turn away.” What are your thoughts on how YouTube impacts crime and police–community relations?

LMGTFY (Let Me Google That For You)

My personal favorite story comes from TechCrunch, by way of Telegram: Google’s Street View Takes A Byte Out Of Crime. (Hey, that almost sounds like our spokesdog’s catch-phrase.) I linked to the TechCrunch article deliberately because I want to call attention to the comments. Personally, I say kudos to the Massachusetts police officer and deputy fire chief for using every tool at their disposal, but I want to hear what you think, too!

Comments

[National Crime Prevention Council]

Phishing for account information via twitter has been dubbed "twishing".

[Adam Shlian]

Thank you for the comment! The convention of changing the first consonant in "phishing" to indicate different technologies doesn't stop there. In our most recent issue of Catalyst ( http://www.ncpc.org/publications/catalyst-2009/volume-30-number-1 ), we describe "Vishing," or Voice Phishing, using VoIP as the means to scam people.