ID Theft (part 2) - Who They Are

Who are you?

I started this series awhile back and due to distractions have not been able to follow up on it. In the last article I pointed out just how vulnerable we are to identity theft. In this article we explore just what identity means. And in the next just how others go about assuming yours. (Standard disclaimer) This is not a how-to guide as anybody with brains can either figure it out themselves or pull the information off the net. Ok now off we go…

You wake up in the morning look at yourself in the mirror and you know your you. It's a simple case of self-verification (unless of course that last tequila hit you really hard). Lets take the next step in your personal network. You go down stairs and your mother (who is visiting from the sticks) says good morning to you, she is a trusted peer in your network and again validates your identity, as she is the one who created you in the first place. Your live in lover come down stairs gives you a peck on the cheek on his/her way out the door another validation, or is it? Unless she is a snoop and has been going through your wallet the only information she has to go on about you is what you have told her or what she has gathered from your peer network. And from this point on the identity verifications only gets less and less secure….

You hop into the car and drive to class and the cops pull you over a bit of speeding. Asks for your drivers license writes you a ticket and waves you on your way… The officer's only form of validating your identity at that point is that little plastic drivers license and the data it has on it.

You finish your last class go down to the computer lab flash your student ID card, start up your IRC client of choice drop into #hot_coeds and as buffy and start chatting away at this point your identity is just what you make of it and just what others will believe of what you say.

You stop by the Atm to pull out some cash for the party tonight, put in your card, punch in your code and out pops your cash. At this point your only identity as far as the machine is concerned is that little bit of plastic and the validation code you type in.

So it is safe to say that ones own identity is based on the particular standards of the situation one is in at any given moment. For the most part on a day-to-day basis your identity is based on what you say and do and how you act but more importantly it is based on how you interact with what is around you and on what is around you perceives and accepts as a validator. As long as you keep that in mind then the steps that somebody may take to assume your identity should seem rather simple.

In order for somebody to assume your identity they must first know what they wish to accomplish as you (Chat in IRC, get a passport, or rob your credit). What basis for validation that situation will need in order it to accept them as you (radical surgery to fool your lover, drivers license for the cop, or pin number and card for the ATM) once these are defined your on your way to have a mimic.

In the next article we will at last get down to how they do it.

Hunterose

1.) Statistical Physics Au Naturel - josette
2.) A look at Warez - OZONE
3.) Physics utilizing comp technology or computer tech utilizing Physics (Part 3) - josette
4.) State of the Hack Awards #3 - madsaxon
5.) The scene has gone to hell - bonghittr
6.) ID Theft (part 2) - Who are they - Hunterose
7.) Down the sink hole - L33tdawg