Security features only work if everyone plays along

infoblog » Security features only work if everyone plays along

infoblog » Security features only work if everyone plays along — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:32:44 GMT

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re: Security features only work if everyone plays along

Norman Diamond — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:55:49 GMT

You shouldn't have posted this story yet. First, since delivery requires a signature, you should have demanded a tracing of the signature. That would have some likelihood of reducing future repetitions of this kind of malfeasance. If you demand a tracing of the signature now, FedEx might just say you already announced that you received the delivery.

"In order for a US or Canadian citizen to get into China on a tourist visa, you have to get a Chinese travel visa."

To use a tourist visa you have to get a _tourist_ visa. A transit visa is something different, I don't know if China offers one, but it's not what you would need anyway.

"I had to send in my actual passport"

Depending on countries involved, sometimes you have to bring it in yourself instead of sending it. Sometimes you have to make a second trip to get it back yourself too.

By the way don't forget about countries whose governments don't even try to use secure methods when mailing passports. You're living in one. Or countries where registered mail addressed to the government doesn't even reach the government. You came from one.

re: Security features only work if everyone plays along

Remote Anti Spam — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:07:44 GMT

To be honest, this doesn't surprise me in the slightest. As Norman pointed out in his comment I think that in the USA there is still a very lazy approach to all round security.

I just spent 3 months in New York and often got the feeling that security is a surface level operation there. I think the USA is the best nation in the world at making it look like everything is secure; high visibility security guards everywhere, the appearance that things are taken care of.

I couldn't believe it when I called my cell phone carrier (I was using a US SIM card) and was asked to confirm my name, my address, date of birth and then my full security PIN number just to add a service to my account.

I advised the call centre operative that I wasn't going to give her the full PIN, and suggested that she asked me to confirm any two digits i.e. the first and third or second and third, whatever. She said that this is the way it had to be done.

I explained that this was highly insecure. I'm sitting in a busy coffee shop and I've just told you my full name, address, and date of birth. I can't now be sure if somebody here isn't already scheming to sell my apartment but if I also give you my full PIN they can call you up later and add extra minutes to my cell phone package. And I won't have that!

Chinazor U. Ozoemena

re: Security features only work if everyone plays along

tzink — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:57:22 GMT

Another thing about the US is that I have to hand over my Social Security number to pretty much everyone. When I lived in Canada, I never had to reveal my Social Insurance Number except to employers. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Blockbuster made me give them my SSN.