Links in “Technology”

From an apartment kitchen in Belarus, a 24-year-old picks up the phone and calls the toll-free number, using software that makes it look as if he's calling from the U.S. "You don't see blood, you don't see crying people in front of you. You're just pushing the button." [7/15/15]

A biometrics authentication company NXT-ID, Inc. has announced it has patented its behavior directed mobile payments technology. Such "behavior-metrics" recognize both the individual and the action of the individual. The technology is meant to identify an individual based on facial expressions, gestures, patterns drawn, or even PINs. [7/15/15]

It's Sunday night. Cybercriminals launch a vicious distributed denial of service attack against your company. The next 48 hours will test your culture, teamwork and collective dedication to your mission. Here's how it looked from the inside for one company and what its CEO learned from the experience. [7/15/15]

The CFPB provides plenty of tools for users of the consumer complaint database, now featuring complaint narratives, to share the items via social meet, such as on Facebook, Twitter or email. One way to help avoid seeing the scales tipped totally the other way is to solicit feedback from consumers before they feel that turning to the CFPB is their only choice. What's more, customers with positive experiences could become evangelists for the financial institution. [7/13/15]

The CFPB believes that new electronic payment systems need to be secure, transparent, accessible, and affordable to consumers. To that end the CFPB has released recommendations to the private sector for the development of new payment systems that will, among other things, provide consumers with more control over individual payments, allow consumers the ability to determine what data may be transferred with a transaction, and allow for real-time access to information about transaction status, risks, and costs. [7/10/15

The hack that hit the government's background-check investigation database exposed data on some 21.5 million individuals, including 1.1 million fingerprint scans. 1.8 million of those affect were spouses or other members of applicants' households. [7/10/15]

The CFPB outlined a number of guiding principles for protecting consumers as the private sector develops newer, faster payment systems. The principles are largely aimed at influencing industry standards to promote security, transparency, error resolution, accessibility, and affordability. The capacity of the CFPB to enforce its will on payment system providers is partially indirect, but that does not mean the Bureau is without options and thereby suggests the need for industry consideration of its noted message. [7/10/15]

This new biometrics payment service with confirm identity and authenticate online transactions via fingerprints or facial scans. The system was created in light of a new encryption standard from the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). [7/7/15]

The White House's vision of an Underwriters Laboratories-type certificate for internet devices could become a reality, as UL is involved in the government's initiative to promote such security certification standards. [7/7/15]

We are on track in 2015 to see a new record set in the number of breaches and number of records exposed. In 2014, U.S. data breaches hit a record high of 783 with 85,611,258 confirmed records exposed. Through June 30, 2015, we have already experienced 400 breaches that exposed 117,576,693 records. [7/6/15]