As this threat continues to grow, we remind our clients to be careful of the emails that they open in their personal or work accounts.  Do not click on links from any unfamiliar source, and be cautious even with emails from friends as their accounts may have been accessed by fraudsters.  If a friend’s email asks you to click on a random link or the language seems strange, contact your friend before you go forward and make certain that the email is from them.  Do not respond to emails asking for personal information.  No legitimate company will ask for that kind of information over email. 

Should Israel go to war with Iran, the only way that Iran could answer is through terrorism and that terrorism would be targeting not only Israelis, but Americans and the British as well.

We are warning our clients to be very wary now when they travel and to pay particular attention to news coming from this area and to travel warnings being issued by the State Department.

If your travel plans are affected by rising terror threats we would advise taking such precautions as avoiding crowded shopping centers, major tourist attractions and staying in low profile hotels instead of landmarks or big American chains that are likely targets of terrorists.

Should international travel become a bigger security issue, we will be offering a more extensive list of travel safety tips.

Lone wolf terrorists are perhaps even more dangerous than those from groups like Al-Qaeda because they often don’t communicate with anyone about what they are planning to do.  That lack of communication lessens the chances that their plans will be picked up by law enforcement.

While the threat may come from foreign agents, there may be an equal threat from domestic elements.  While the economy is improving, a lot of the improvement is being seen in big cities.  Vast swaths of the country are still floundering and that continued instability can give rise to a lot of anger and frustration that is sometimes finds an outlet in violence directed toward agencies or groups that the perpetrators feel have wronged them.

Again this threat is a reminder that all of us must do our part to keep our country safe.  Law enforcement agencies are limited in what they can do to detect and prevent lone wolves from striking.  It is up to all of us to do our part by reporting things like abandoned packages or suspicious behavior such as someone seeming to spend an inordinate amount of time observing a government building or church, or purchasing large amounts of suspicious materials or weaponry. 

Today, however, FBI Director Robert Mueller denied the agency ever sought any information directly from Carrier IQ for any of its investigations.

But he hedged a bit saying that he “couldn’t rule out the possibility that some customer data obtained by the FBI from wireless carriers may have been gathered by Carrier IQ’s software.” But then he said that the FBI has “neither sought nor obtained any information from Carrier IQ in any one of our investigations.”

So basically, while denying that the FBI has directly worked with Carrier IQ to collect information, he did leave the door open to the possibility that they have worked with wireless providers to obtain the information collected by Carrier IQ’s software.

The difference to the people that have been spied on is probably pretty slim.

The software has also been found on Apple devices, but on those devices the software only records location.

Carrier IQ has released statements claiming that the purpose of the software is only to monitor the devices so that the makers can improve performance and that they do not record the information or sell it to other customers.

Regardless of whether their claims prove to be true (which will certainly be tested in court as the company may be violating federal wiretapping laws), the fact that this is happening without the knowledge or consent of the user, and that the user does not have the option to opt out is very disturbing.  And whether or not Carrier IQ uses or sells the information that their software is gathering, they have opened another door for hackers who definitely would use the information for nefarious purposes.

This revelation is a further demonstration of what a security risk these devices can be and a reminder that we should think carefully before sending  or reading sensitive or confidential information using them.

Those credentials could allow the hackers to attack other systems supplied by the same company.

This attack illustrates the threat from cyber attacks to Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. They are highly specialized computer systems that control critical infrastructure — from water treatment facilities, chemicals plants and nuclear reactors to gas pipelines, dams and switches on train lines.

Some reports indicate that the attack was Russian in origin, but nothing has been confirmed.

The report, while not being specific, says that the hackers “achieved all steps required to command” the satellites without ever actually exercising that control.

While nothing came of this hack, it is disturbing because of what it could mean for satellites with more sensitive functions.

Many small businesses owners do not make security a top priority.  IT security is lax and often too many of their employees have access to sensitive information.

Small businesses that do not employee an IT professional should have a policy in place to limit internet activity on networked company computers to that which is necessary for work and to not open links or files from unknown sources.  Sensitive company information should be password protected and access should be limited to only those people in the company who need it.  If employees need smart phones or tablet computers for work, those contracts should be managed by the company so the company can have tighter control over them and can shut them down when necessary.  Software is also available to remotely wipe lost phones.  All laptops, smart phones and tablet computers should be password protected and all losses should be reported immediately.

Physical security is also very important.  Employees should be aware of who is in the office and question anyone that they don’t recognize.  Access to the office after business hours should be limited.

Most importantly, employees should be aware of security practices and reminded of them on a regular basis.

According to Holder the plot began in May with a meeting in Mexico and evolved into a conspiracy to pay $1.5 million to murder the ambassador on United States soil.

Manssor Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri, originally from Iran, were the two men accused of the plot. Both men were connected to the secretive Quds Force, a division of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that has carried out operations in other countries.  The plotters had gotten as far as transferring the money but had not obtained explosives.

Arbabsiar, a naturalized American citizen, was arrested on Sept. 29, while Shakuri remains at large. However, according to Holder, there is “no basis to believe that any other co-conspirators are present in the U.S.”

One reason that few fraudsters are punished is that in order to prove fraud in court you have to be able to prove that fraud was the perpetrator’s intent.  Unfortunately, it is difficult to prove that fraud was not  financial mismanagement or simple negligence.

According to a recent Thomson Reuters article, the SEC may be changing strategy and casting a wider net.  Rather than going for the big penalties and prison sentences for fraud charges, they are pursuing fraudsters for the lesser crime of negligence.  Fines for negligence are far less than that for fraud and may not even result in a ban from the securities industry but it may “chip away at the notion that financial finagling carries little risk.”  And perhaps some of the faces of the financial meltdown who have thus far escaped penalties will find that they are not in the clear after all.

It will be interesting to see if the risk of negligence charges will be enough to stem the tide of financial fraud.  In my experience, if there is enough of a profit to be made from a fraudulent scheme a relative slap on the wrist will not be much of a deterrent.

In the meantime, the daily discovery of newer and bigger financial frauds is a reminder to all of us of the importance of proper due diligence.  Especially in the volatile financial markets that investors are facing today, it is imperative that we take every precaution before entrusting our money regardless of reputation or potential profit.