The most surprising thing I see out of this isn't the need for more robust authentication but for services that aren't so damn quick to do whatever you want.
Website: "Hey Bill, glad to see you today, what do you want to do"
Bill: "Delete _everything_ I've ever done on every system I have"
Website: "Of course! Let's get this started... beep boop bip and done!"
What about this:
1 - Kill request sent
2 - 48 hours is set on the clock so you can choose to cancel
3 - You can choose to pay $50 via credit card to have it happen immediately
4 - You are reimbursed $45 after a couple weeks
That might make it a little harder to have such hacks like this happen in the future.
I can just imagine the HN article when someone tries to delete his Facebook account because he disagrees with some new feature, and they won't do it for 48 hours. I've been on the receiving end of "DELETE MY ACCOUNT!!!1!!1" requests, and I know those people wouldn't respond well to "wait two days or pay up."
Can you delete your Facebook account instantly? When I deleted mine, it went into limbo for like two weeks before being permanently deleted. (I don't remember if there was no option for instant-delete, or if I just didn't care to.)
Facebook doesn't even allow you to delete your account. If a site were to remove the account from the public view, but delay the actual deleting by a few days (I'd prefer a week or more actually), you wouldn't notice the difference unless you were malicious. But I don't understand what the money is for actually.
> I don't understand what the money is for actually.
I was thinking about remote storage and devices. For example, a backpack is stolen with your phone/tablet/laptop and you need to issue a wipe to it NOW before they are compromised.
Requiring a credit card at least leaves a paper trail of some sort.
Once I moved and realized I forgot to cancel my phone and DSL. On the road, I used my cell to call the phone company to cancel. They did it for me immediately.
I was relieved it was so easy, but unnerved at how easy it was.
Maybe they had the cell associated with my land line, but I doubt it, since I got the line before I ever had a cell.
Website: "Hey Bill, glad to see you today, what do you want to do"
Bill: "Delete _everything_ I've ever done on every system I have"
Website: "Of course! Let's get this started... beep boop bip and done!"
What about this:
1 - Kill request sent
2 - 48 hours is set on the clock so you can choose to cancel
3 - You can choose to pay $50 via credit card to have it happen immediately
4 - You are reimbursed $45 after a couple weeks
That might make it a little harder to have such hacks like this happen in the future.