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As a follow-up to my May 17 posting, Biometric ID Will Be Added to US Passports, today’s AP story, Electronic Passports Might Not Measure Up, details additional concerns that the information chips under development subject the passport holder to an ID theft scam that is simple to perpetrate.
Press release: The Federal Trade Commission has issued its final rules under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) regarding further definition of the terms “identity theft” and “identity theft report”; the duration of active duty alerts; and the appropriate proof of identity needed by consumers to block fraudulent trade lines in their consumer …
This extensive examination into ID theft in America indicates that U.S. law enforcement have determined that a large proportion of these crimes are planned offshore, and that outsourcing has been a contributing factor.
From email security provider CipherTrust, this report details research on the origin, method of dissemination, and targets of phishing attacks. “CipherTrust researchers have determined that fewer than five zombie networks are responsible for all Internet phishing attacks worldwide.”
Update to 10/08/04 posting, FTC Files Case Against Two Companies Who Market Spyware, that included a link to the complaint, see the 10/12/04 FTC press release, FTC Cracks down On Spyware Operation, for additional comments.
Social Security Numbers: Use Is Widespread and Protections Vary in Private and Public Sectors GAO-04-1099T, September 28, 2004, Highlights-PDF “The use of SSNs by both private and public sector entities is likely to continue, but the more frequently SSNs are used, the more likely they are to be misused given the continued rise in identity …
Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission on Identity Theft and Social Security Numbers, Before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, September 28, 2004. Accompanying FTC press release See also the Fair Credit Reporting Act and previous postings here and here on security issues associated …
FTC press release, FTC Continues Education, Enforcement Efforts to Promote Information Security, and Commissioner Swindle’s prepared statement (PDF, 17 pages) before the House Committee on Government Reform hearing, Identity Theft: The Cause, Costs, Consequences, and Potential Solutions?, September 22, 2004. Links to opening statement and testimony by other government officials and industry representatives.
Google Search Reveals Credit-Card Numbers: “In an effort to ascertain actual theft risk associated with ordering online, NewsFactor conducted an informal test of the Web… the test was conducted using basic search engines to determine how accessible personal-identity and credit-card information was to a more ordinary criminal mind.”
From the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Fact Sheet No. 24e: Is Your Financial Information Safe? September 2004: “In this guide we tell you how financial companies must safeguard your personal information, the types of companies that must follow security procedures, and what you can do to protect yourself.”
A brief article in the August 26 Wall Street Journal, page B6, raises important questions concerning the security of confidential corporate documents stored on the hard drives of digital copiers, and potentially accessible by hackers if the drives have separate network addresses. From the article: “If a human resources department uses a digital photocopier to …
From the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: FACTA, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act: Consumers Win Some, Lose Some and Fact Sheet No. 6: How Private Is My Credit Report? Revised August 2004.
