A persistent lack of awareness about identity theft at the consumer and industry levels costs money, according to the founder of I
/24-7PressRelease.com/ - BOSTON, Massachusetts - April 9, 2005 (IDTheftSecurity.com) Reports show that many businesspeople and individual consumers still do not recognize the full gravity of the identity theft threat. A nationally recognized security expert urges industry to take identity theft seriously and implement measures to combat the danger.
"Identity theft can occur in myriad ways," said Robert Siciliano, a nationally televised and quoted authority on personal security and identity theft. "The possibilities are endless. A complete overhaul of identifying standards and processes is paramount and needs to be industry"s driving objective."
On Feb. 24, shortly after the ChoicePoint Inc. identity theft scandal broke, Siciliano appeared on CNBC"s "The Closing Bell" to discuss the dangers of identity theft. He is author of "The Safety Minute: 01" and an upcoming book, "Identity Theft Pandemic: Curing the Identity Theft Virus."
In an April 1 CNET article, Jon Oltsik included information from an Enterprise Strategy Group survey of 229 U.S.-based security professionals. The survey found 23 percent of respondents reporting internal security breaches at their organizations over the past year. An additional 27 percent of respondents did not even know, when asked, whether such a breach had occurred.
On March 29, Digital-Lifestyles.info reported research from Infosecurity Europe. For the chance of winning theater tickets, 92 percent of 200 people surveyed provided strangers with all the personal information a criminal would need to steal their identities.
"Clearly, security is lackingÖ¢€”as is awareness and concernÖ¢€”not only at the consumer level but also at the highest levels of corporations. This includes CFO and CIO naÖƒ¯vet about the issue," said Siciliano.
Corporations have been slow to realize that identity theft is not just a problem for consumers. The crime and how a business behaves afterward can attract lawyers and litigation. In press releases dated April 1, class action lawsuits alleging federal securities laws violations at companies such as Mamma.com, Inc., Molex Incorporated, and ChoicePoint Inc. were filed.
The same day, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"s Bill Husted reported that ChoicePoint would let consumers review the personal information it has obtained about them.
"It is likely only because of legal and legislative pressure," said Siciliano, "that ChoicePoint has responded by stopping the sale of Social Security numbers to third-party private investigators who then resell them to "Joe Identity Thief.""
"At times of heightened awareness, inaction can be costly, and damage control, no matter how genuine, can be too little too late," Siciliano concluded. "One misstep in data security puts a company and all its executives" actions under the microscope for a very long time."
14.12.2005 - 20:42 Source: 24-7pressrelease.com | Read: 144 X
