{"id":8908,"date":"2015-11-05T14:05:03","date_gmt":"2015-11-05T14:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/?p=8908"},"modified":"2018-05-09T12:53:12","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T12:53:12","slug":"cyber-conference-highlights-criminal-activity-under-our-noses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/2015\/11\/05\/cyber-conference-highlights-criminal-activity-under-our-noses\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyber Conference Highlights Criminal Activity Under our Noses"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a bone-chilling demonstration, FIU alumnus and Secret Service Agent Robert Villanueva recently directed an operative to commit cybertheft from the comfort of the MARC Pavilion.<\/p>\n

Shielded from view by a black curtain, the man with a Russian accent spoke over a microphone while his interaction with the \u201cDeep Web\u201d\u2014the part of the Internet not accessible through standard search engines because it serves to facilitate illicit activity\u2014was projected onto a large overhead screen. Attendees of FIU\u2019s \u201cTrends in Cybersecurity\u201d conference followed along in rapt attention as he purchased active credit card numbers and, in one case, an American citizen\u2019s social security number, each for a few dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are thousands of people doing this online,\u201d said Villanueva, who heads the Electronic Crimes Task Force in South Florida. \u201cI\u2019m not going to sugarcoat it. I want the academics to know. I want the community to know what\u2019s really happening out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"419B9398\"<\/p>\n

Presented by the\u00a0Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering<\/a>\u00a0within the College of Engineering & Computing<\/a>, the conference focused on credit card fraud, which nationally totals 8.6 billion per year. Miami-Dade County is number one for such crimes, Villanueva told the audience, and just earlier this month his unit shut down a large operation in Kendall that was printing counterfeit credit cards with numbers purchased off the Deep Web.<\/p>\n

Most of that data was acquired through major security breaches, such as the one at Target in December of 2013 and Home Depot last year. Overseas hackers, almost exclusively Russian nationals or other Russian speakers living around the world, take the information and sell it in bulk to vendors who then parse it out online to anyone looking to buy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe position of the United States Secret Service headquarters is that cybercrime originating from Eastern Europe is the biggest threat to the financial infrastructure of the United States of America by far,\u201d Villaneuva said. \u201cI\u2019m not talking about people hacking into your computer networks to steal intellectual property or hacking the Department of Defense for national secrets. These are cybercriminals, cyberthieves that are online. They\u2019re in it for the profit, period.\u201d<\/p>\n

The current\u00a0upgrade to credit cards embedded with\u00a0EMV<\/a> chips\u2014a security measure common in Europe and now required in the United States\u2014should cut down on the stealing of card information\u00a0associated with on-site<\/em> purchases, as discussed in a panel session during the conference. At the point of purchase, the chip encrypts data in a way that protects it from, for example, being recorded by \u201cskimmers,\u201d the hidden machinery that thieves attach to credit card swipers at ATMs and gas stations.<\/p>\n

Building awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n

The conference brought together FIU faculty and students with industry professionals and experts to drive home the seriousness of the matter and spread the word.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecurity has only become an issue over the last 10\u00a0years. Before that we were thinking about functionality, performance, making life easier for us. And then people started taking advantage of all that,\u201d said Alexander Pons, a lecturer in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe trust too much, and I think that\u2019s our biggest liability in some cases,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pons gave the example of how easily people relinquish control of their credit cards, be it at a restaurant to pay a bill or at a doctor\u2019s office to satisfy a copay.\u00a0\u201cOne of the things that amazes me is how people hand their credit cards to an individual they don\u2019t know. What stops that individual from easily taking your number, taking your security code on the back and the expiration date?\u201d<\/p>\n

Graduate student Swheata Upputolla, already interested in the subject and enrolled in the department\u2019s network security track, said the live demo strengthened her commitment to research in cybersecurity. \u201cI never knew actually that this would happen, [that] in minutes you can buy a stolen credit card. I was completely shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the chair of the department, Shekhar Bhansali, who organized the conference and hopes to make it an annual affair, recalled his own credit card woes while chatting during a break. Soon after using his card to pay for a meal in a Coconut Grove\u00a0restaurant, his account\u00a0registered a $6,000 purchase at a nearby shopping center. It drove home for him that individuals must take responsibility for safeguarding their information and stay vigilant.<\/p>\n

\u201cNinety percent of the battle,\u201d he said, \u201cis just being aware of what footprint you are leaving and where.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tips for avoiding credit card\u00a0fraud<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n