I felt fear, awe, and even some admiration when I read at CNET about the latest social engineering attack dreamed up by those ingenious Russian hackers.

Those entering online dating forums risk having more than their hearts stolen.

A program that can mimic online flirtation and then extract personal
information from its unsuspecting conversation partners is making the
rounds in Russian chat forums, according to security software firm PC Tools.

The artificial intelligence of CyberLover's automated chats is good
enough that victims have a tough time distinguishing the "bot" from a
real potential suitor, PC Tools said. The software can work quickly
too, establishing up to 10 relationships in 30 minutes, PC Tools said.
It compiles a report on every person it meets complete with name,
contact information, and photos.

Then again, there is one particular flaw when it comes to pulling identifiable information in an online dating forum. The flaw? It's a dating forum. I fear that this bot may find out that I'm a CEO of a multi-billion dollar company who likes to fly to the coast on weekends so I can sail one of my many yachts. Oh, I'm also still in my 20s, a chick magnet, and a full head of hair remains on top. Hopefully, the bots will not find this truthful information about me. Hmm, the feelings of fear, awe, and admiration I once felt for these hackers aren't so strong afterall.

"One of my heroes, Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today, whom I’ve written much aboutBlog Herald, has simplified the issue of content theft into two brilliant and understandable articles. and love his work on the Blog Herald, has simplified the issue of content theft into two brilliant and understandable articles."

Complete Story

Most of us in IT are aware of the recent data thefts of personal information within the United States government. Over the past couple weeks the VA admitted that files containing personal data for more than 50,000 active duty and more than 26 million veterans was stolen. In related news it was also reported that the "Energy Department disclosed to Congress on Friday that it suffered a security breach from a hacker in September that compromised 1,500 personnel records". With these two news stories fresh in our minds, we have chosen an opinion piece by Frank Hayes as this week's IT Quote of the Week:

Too many of our business processes are just as messy as the VA's. For years, we've collected data via the Web or by using customer relationship management systems, much of it data that we don't need, don't keep proper track of and haven't properly secured...As we watch the VA's fiasco continue to unfold, we're in no position to feel superior or complacent. That could be us.

-Frank Hayes, Number Control, Computerworld