Operation n

I was just going on about how I don’t trust anybody with personal data and this bombshell about two computer discs full of personal details about people claiming child benefits going missing comes out into the open.

There are a variety of proxy servers about that offer anonymity in a bid to offer anonymous surfing. Proxyblind does give some useful information particular why it should be there. There are some tools and proxies available but are a bit hard to find. Find proxy is another resource for proxy servers. public proxy servers has an up to date list of servers available. While freeproxy has a nice compendium of proxy links. A few of them you have type the URL at the website including the eyecatchingly named hidemyass.

Let’s not forget you can always use the tor project, which uses a network of virtual tunnels to blur your originating identity from tracking sites. Privoxy is a popular web proxy that works very well with tor. Tor has had a few issues in the past as anonymity is only as strong as its weakest exit router. More recently, a way round to find de-anonymizing tor and detecting proxies using the fact that applets, plug-ins can willfully by-pass the tor network and head for your originating IP address.

For me this is a catch-22 situation as personally I do not trust any organisation with my personal details. Unfortunately, if I need anything I do need to prove myself. You have no idea what goes on when you give a company some personal details. You do not know how competent they are handling your details or whether they actually sell on your details to third party vendors even though you check the ‘please don’t send on my details to third-parties’. Case in point is FCO breaching data privacy of 50,000 visa applicants…

“The personal details of 50,000 visa applicants were on view to visitors to a website run by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Information Commissioner’s Office has found. The Information Commissioner’s Office today found the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in breach of the Data Protection Act following an investigation into a security breach on the online application facility for UK visas.
The breach on the UK visas website allowed visitors to the site to see personal data of people applying for entry visas to the UK. A tip-off from Channel 4 alerted the Information Commissioner’s Office in May. It launched an immediate investigation into the site, which is run jointly by the Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Directorate responsible for visa processing.”

In London, there is a pre-payment smart card for London buses and tube (subway) called the Oyster card. It was only a matter of time that skim artists would create skimming devices for oyster cards that has been done for credit cards.

Another little guide to web application vulnerabilities how they may crop up from securityfocus.