Covert Contact 100: Online Security: Avoiding a Personal October Surprise

Scot Terban joins me to talk about personal security as the United States heads toward the November election. The immediate concern is the possibility of hacks and strategically timed leaks, but the conversation reaches into the everyday habits that make people easier to identify, approach, and exploit online.

We begin with behavior on social media. Angry exchanges, oversharing, and the rewards of likes and attention can encourage people to reveal far more than they intend. The pandemic has made online relationships even more central to daily life. We discuss how someone with malicious intentions can use those public signals to appear sympathetic and familiar, building trust before asking for information or access.

A recent LinkedIn recruitment case makes that risk concrete. Scot describes recognizing a person who had previously contacted him on the platform. We examine why professional profiles are valuable to intelligence services and other attackers: they identify expertise, employment histories, connections, and people who may be looking for an opportunity. A person can be useful as a route to someone else even when they are not the ultimate target.

We then turn to a practical exercise: examining your own online presence from an adversary’s perspective. Search results, old accounts, photographs, and connections can expose more in combination than any single item suggests. We discuss taking an inventory, reducing unnecessary disclosure, and thinking through how material could be misrepresented as well as what it actually says.

Account security also matters. We cover strong, unique passwords, password management, two-factor authentication, and the risks of forgotten accounts. There is value in preparing a response to a possible disclosure, since material may have been collected well before it becomes public.

The aim is to make security an ongoing habit while continuing to use the networks and technology that matter to us.