https://keremalbayrak.com/category-identity Writing from the desk in the category of Identity. en-GB Copyright © 2026 Kerem Albayrak Thu, 28 May 2026 00:06:33 +0000 https://keremalbayrak.com/banners/category-identity.png https://keremalbayrak.com/category-identity https://keremalbayrak.com/the-recovery-email-on-a-domain-you-no-longer-own https://keremalbayrak.com/the-recovery-email-on-a-domain-you-no-longer-own Tue, 26 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A founder lets the domain of a former venture expire. The domain is bought by a stranger. The recovery emails for accounts set up in the founding years still point to that domain. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-quiet-leak-from-a-personal-assistant https://keremalbayrak.com/the-quiet-leak-from-a-personal-assistant Tue, 26 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity An assistant holds the calendar, the correspondence, the access to half the accounts that run a private life. A breach of the assistant is a breach of the principal. https://keremalbayrak.com/ai-voice-cloning-and-the-phone-call-from-a-relative https://keremalbayrak.com/ai-voice-cloning-and-the-phone-call-from-a-relative Tue, 26 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A short sample of someone's voice is enough to generate a phone call that sounds like them. The technology is widely available and almost free. A familiar voice is no longer proof of identity. https://keremalbayrak.com/domain-spoofing-and-the-near-perfect-email https://keremalbayrak.com/domain-spoofing-and-the-near-perfect-email Tue, 26 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A domain that differs from the genuine one by a single character is registered by an attacker. Emails sent from it look identical to the eye. The technique remains effective because the eye does not check. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-old-recovery-question-that-was-once-true https://keremalbayrak.com/the-old-recovery-question-that-was-once-true Tue, 26 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Mother's maiden name. First school. First pet. These answers were once known only to the holder. Now they sit on genealogy sites, school alumni pages, and social posts written years ago. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-bodyguard-and-the-published-detail https://keremalbayrak.com/the-bodyguard-and-the-published-detail Tue, 26 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A principal's security arrangements are themselves a record. The firm employed, the personnel deployed, the routine of the protection: each is knowable, and each says something about the principal. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-medical-record-and-the-leak-from-the-clinic https://keremalbayrak.com/the-medical-record-and-the-leak-from-the-clinic Tue, 26 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A private clinic holds a substantial record on the principal. The clinic's systems are breached. The record surfaces in places no one would expect. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-personal-cloud-storage-and-what-it-quietly-holds https://keremalbayrak.com/the-personal-cloud-storage-and-what-it-quietly-holds Tue, 26 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A consumer cloud account holds a decade of photographs, scanned documents, backup of every device the principal has owned. A breach of the account is a breach of the principal's life as documented. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-modern-phishing-that-knows-your-name https://keremalbayrak.com/the-modern-phishing-that-knows-your-name Tue, 26 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity The generic phishing campaign is being replaced by targeted messages that reference the recipient's actual bank, recent activity, and personal details. The cost of personalisation has fallen, and so the personalised attack is now economic against ordinary targets. https://keremalbayrak.com/how-a-sim-swap-works-and-what-it-takes-from-you https://keremalbayrak.com/how-a-sim-swap-works-and-what-it-takes-from-you Mon, 25 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A SIM swap moves your phone number to a SIM in someone else's hands. Once it happens, the person who has your number can reset many of your accounts. https://keremalbayrak.com/account-recovery-as-the-quiet-back-door https://keremalbayrak.com/account-recovery-as-the-quiet-back-door Sun, 24 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity The forgot-password flow is often the easiest way into an account. Why the recovery path matters more than the password itself. https://keremalbayrak.com/when-someone-forwards-your-email-without-you-knowing https://keremalbayrak.com/when-someone-forwards-your-email-without-you-knowing Sat, 23 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity An attacker who briefly gets into your email can set a forwarding rule. From then on, copies of your messages go to them. You may not notice for months. https://keremalbayrak.com/phishing-aimed-at-people-with-something-to-lose https://keremalbayrak.com/phishing-aimed-at-people-with-something-to-lose Fri, 22 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Ordinary phishing is sent to millions and hopes a few click. Targeted phishing is sent to one person, prepared in detail, and is much harder to spot. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-voice-on-the-phone-that-sounds-like-someone-you-trust https://keremalbayrak.com/the-voice-on-the-phone-that-sounds-like-someone-you-trust Thu, 21 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Voice cloning has become cheap and good. A short clip of someone speaking is enough to generate a phone call that sounds like them. https://keremalbayrak.com/how-a-service-provider-becomes-a-vulnerability https://keremalbayrak.com/how-a-service-provider-becomes-a-vulnerability Thu, 21 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity The companies that verify a person can also be the weakest point in identifying that person. The conditions in which a trusted provider becomes the surface through which a life is opened. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-household-as-an-information-channel https://keremalbayrak.com/the-household-as-an-information-channel Wed, 20 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity The people who work in and around a home know a lot. Staff, contractors, cleaners, deliveries. Each is a route through which information can leave. https://keremalbayrak.com/what-happens-when-a-device-leaves-your-hands https://keremalbayrak.com/what-happens-when-a-device-leaves-your-hands Tue, 19 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A phone left in a taxi, a laptop in a hotel room, a tablet at a security check. The risk depends on what is on the device and how it is protected. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-old-account-you-forgot-you-had https://keremalbayrak.com/the-old-account-you-forgot-you-had Mon, 18 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Most people have accounts they no longer use and have forgotten exist. The forgotten ones are often the most exposed. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-transferred-number-and-what-travels-with-it https://keremalbayrak.com/the-transferred-number-and-what-travels-with-it Sun, 17 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A telephone number is, in modern systems, treated as an identifier of the person. The administrative process by which a number can pass from one device to another, and what depends on it. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-persistent-identifier-inside-a-device https://keremalbayrak.com/the-persistent-identifier-inside-a-device Thu, 14 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Every device a person uses carries identifiers that, by design, persist longer than any single login. What lives inside the hardware. https://keremalbayrak.com/identity-and-the-country-on-the-passport https://keremalbayrak.com/identity-and-the-country-on-the-passport Thu, 14 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Where a person's identity records sit decides what is asked of them at each border, each bank, and each verification. The choice of jurisdiction is, in part, an identity decision. https://keremalbayrak.com/how-a-face-is-matched-without-consent https://keremalbayrak.com/how-a-face-is-matched-without-consent Wed, 13 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Face matching has moved from controlled environments to ambient infrastructure. How a face is recognised, and where, and by whom. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-identifier-that-survives-a-name-change https://keremalbayrak.com/the-identifier-that-survives-a-name-change Tue, 12 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A formal change of name does not change every identifier attached to a person. What remains, and how it is matched. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-recovery-flow-and-its-quiet-weaknesses https://keremalbayrak.com/the-recovery-flow-and-its-quiet-weaknesses Tue, 12 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity An account recovery process is designed for the principal who has forgotten the way in. It can be turned against the principal who has not. https://keremalbayrak.com/what-a-frequent-traveller-is-known-by https://keremalbayrak.com/what-a-frequent-traveller-is-known-by Mon, 11 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Travel produces an unusually rich identity record across borders, airlines, and trusted-traveller schemes. What the traveller is known by, and to whom. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-credential-that-follows-a-career https://keremalbayrak.com/the-credential-that-follows-a-career Sun, 10 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Professional credentials are designed to be portable and verifiable. The same qualities make them lasting identity records. https://keremalbayrak.com/how-a-social-account-links-across-platforms https://keremalbayrak.com/how-a-social-account-links-across-platforms Sat, 09 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A person rarely uses a single social platform. The connections between accounts on different platforms form a more legible picture than either account alone. https://keremalbayrak.com/the-recovery-question-and-what-it-carries https://keremalbayrak.com/the-recovery-question-and-what-it-carries Fri, 08 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity Account recovery questions were intended as backup verification. They have become a parallel identity record with weaknesses of their own. https://keremalbayrak.com/verification-fatigue-and-what-it-produces https://keremalbayrak.com/verification-fatigue-and-what-it-produces Fri, 08 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity When a person is asked to confirm their identity many times each week, the procedure stops being a check. What that change in attention produces, and the conditions it creates. https://keremalbayrak.com/when-a-relative-is-named-in-a-record https://keremalbayrak.com/when-a-relative-is-named-in-a-record Thu, 07 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Kerem Albayrak Identity A person's identity record is rarely confined to themselves. When a relative is named, the linkage is automatic and lasting.