2006: Passwords Get Real?

Nick points to this DHS report (PDF) on security threats for 2006.

From the report:

• Hackers Use Instant Messaging To Spread Viruses and Worms
• Phishing Fraud Becomes More Prevalent and Sophisticated
• Viruses Attack Cell Phones and PDAs
• Hackers Target Online Brokerage Accounts
• Internet Crimes Go Unreported

Wired is also reporting on the 2006 RSA Conference.

From the article:

"(John) Callas is currently the CTO of PGP, the industry leader in encrypted communications and data storage.

"Now we are not dealing with kids having fun," Callas said. "We are dealing with criminals -- the Russian mafia. And online banking risks are there if your bank offers it, even if you don't use it."

E-trade, for instance, already offers free RSA security tokens to its most active users. Those battery-powered devices work by using a using a seed number and the current time to cryptographically generate a secure one-time code to complement the normal user login and password.

But those gadgets aren't cheap and most people don't want multiple tokens or prefer not to carry them around. That's prompted newcomers to find alternative methods of performing "two factor" authentication."