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January 2010, Vol. 7 No. 1
Cover Story: Crime Stoppers
The CEO of a Japanese Web-hosting firm calls in his team of IT experts, relaying the details of an overnight emergency with more than a hint of desperation in his voice. A hacker has gained access to a database containing private client information and is posting a directory of account passwords, usernames, and other personally identifying data to a public forum online. Hundreds of new listings keep appearing each minute, and the CEO is powerless to stop it.
For identity thieves, this information is a goldmine. It can be used to commit credit-card or bank fraud—or even to get a driver's license, job, or government benefits under false...
Read MoreIn This Issue
January 2010, Vol. 7 No. 1
The holidays have passed; so has the decade. It's a time to look forward—which, like every preceding decade, will bring new ideas, new stars, new problems. While waiting for winter to end, take some time to learn about Hollywood's next generation ("Dramatic Entrance"), the man who has the power to make the nation's housing market vibrant again ("Mortgage Plan"), and who must protect us from online crimes ("Crime Stoppers"). All this and much more is packed in the January issue.
Mortgage Plan
For Bruce Witherell, contemplating possible career paths during his high school years wasn't his top priority. Even if he had, it's doubtful the Carnegie Mellon alumnus ever would have imagined that someday he would be responsible for trillions of dollars in assets.
—by Melissa Silmore (TPR'85)
Dramatic Entrance
It's not a day students in Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama will soon forget. Before them are two icons of the entertainment industry who have returned to their alma mater to offer some advice. What they offer by their mere presence is a lesson in itself.
—Lisa Kay Davis (HS'09)
Social Insecurity
Everything about us—from our jobs to our birthdays to the names of our pets—seems to end up online these days. That trend may not seem like a big deal, but two Carnegie Mellon researchers have found that trivial personal information made public, combined with a stolen social security number, can have serious consequences.
—Cristina Rouvalis
