A Defensive Computing Checklist    by Michael Horowitz
NOTE: I gave a presentation on Defensive Computing at the HOPE conference in July 2022
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CELL PHONE COMPANIES

While SIM Swaps are probably the biggest danger when dealing with cellphone providers, there is also the issue of their wanting to spy on you.

Privacy: Michael Bazzell, who focuses on privacy, recommends Mint Mobile because they let you open an account anonymously. They may not brag about this, but he has opened accounts with them using fake names and they do less verification of the information you provide than other cell carriers. They use the T-Mobile network and their prices are start at $15/month. Around March 2023, however, they were in the process of being purchased by T-Mobile, so things may change.

T-MOBILE ADVERTISING

T-MOBILE HACKS and DATA BREACHES

It seems that T-Mobile has poor internal security. Between August 2018 and May 2023, the company suffered nine, count them, 9, data breaches. A reasonable person might chose to not use their services, just for this reason. Details below:

This article was written in August 2021 and then revised in January 2023: Here’s what to do if you think you're affected by T-Mobile's latest data breach by Chris Velazco for the Washington Post. Change your password (duh). Change your PIN (another duh). Freeze your credit reports. Avoid relying on your phone number for proving your identity with a text message. Instead, use an authenticator app for two factor authorization. In other words, the article just rounds up the usual suspects. To me, the most interesting thing here were some reader comments about 2FA for T-Mobile. It seems the company does it wrong. While they do offer the use of an authenticator app, at the same time, they will also offer a text message. This should have been in the article.

T-MOBILE HOME INTERNET

Again, there is more on cellphone company security on the SIM Swaps page.

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