Dating your roommate’s ex isn’t a recipe for domestic bliss. When that kind of love triangle developed at the University of Florida a couple of years ago, Pedro Bravo decided the cure for his achy breaky heart was to get rid of his roomie, Christian Aguilar. Permanently. Obviously having no experience in such matters, he consulted the oracle in his iPhone, Siri, asking the best place to dump a body. At least, that was the evidence presented against him by the Gainesville PD in his murder trial yesterday along with detailed info like the number of times he’d used his phone’s flashlight the night Aguilar disappeared. Which made me think . . .
I use my iPhone to store all kinds of important deets including a Notes page that lists my firearms and their serial numbers. It’s handy, gets backed up regularly and if the worst happens and my guns are stolen, I’ll have the info readily at hand for insurance purposes.
But as we’ve all learned, mobile phones aren’t the most secure storage devices in the world. Is keeping that kind of info on a remotely accessible device really a good way to go? Do I want the inventive 8th grader savant across the street to know what’s in my safe? What to do?
Simple. Unplug. Store all of your important firearms facts on dead tree. As of this writing, neither hackers nor the NSA has developed a way to pull your gun list and serial numbers from an 8.5×11″ sheet that’s squirreled away in your safe deposit box. That we know of. Don’t have a bank box? Trade envelopes with a friend. You keep his and he’ll keep yours. That way your list is off site in case of fire.
Moral of the story: when it comes to OpSec, Siri is not your friend.