Identity Theft: P2P Networks Invite Online Thieves—Identity Theft Expert and Speaker on Personal Security

/in , , /by

(BOSTON, Mass. – May 21, 2007 – IDTheftSecurity.com) Robert Siciliano, a personal security and identity theft expert, has demonstrated on television how file-sharing programs can render the contents of a computer’s hard viewable to online thieves. A new study has now shown that peer-to-peer network users may be inadvertently contributing to security breaches.

“Parents should beware when their children share music and other files over the Internet,” said Siciliano. “But a corporation should also be leery of employees doing likewise; they may be unwittingly inviting cyberthieves into the company’s proprietary databases.”

CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com and a member of the Bank Fraud & IT Security Report’s editorial board, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for security issues. A longtime identity theft speaker and author of “The Safety Minute: 01,” he has discussed data security and consumer protection on CNBC, on NBC’s “Today Show,” FOX News, and elsewhere.

As reported in InformationWeek, researchers from Dartmouth University’s Tuck School of Business released findings on May 15 suggesting that corporate data breaches trace back to peer-to-peer (P2P) network usage by employees.

According to the study, the number of P2P users, already at 4 million in 2003, has more than doubled since. Furthermore, the researchers said efforts by officials to surveil, monitor, and dissuade the use of P2P networks in the workplace have failed to keep pace with these networks’ ever-evolving, decentralized nature.

In April, Siciliano was on “FOX 25,” the network’s Boston, Mass. affiliate, to demonstrate how P2P networks allow criminal to obtain the information needed to commit identity theft. Viewers may view his appearance below:
Meanwhile, high-tech and low-tech security holes have continued to plague industry and government:

On May 17, the Associated Press reported that the Georgia Department of Human Resources had informed 140,000 parents of newborns that medical staff in the state had failed to shred documents containing personal information including Social Security numbers.

According to the May 16 edition of ConsumerAffairs.com, data tapes belonging to IBM Corp. and containing current and former employees’ identifying information went missing as an unidentified vendor transported the files to IBM’s headquarters.

“Sensitive data is everywhere,” said Siciliano. “We must do a better job of protecting and securing it. Unless we constantly improve our countermeasures, thieves will find and use our identifying information—whether they find it on a computer or in a wastebasket.”

###

About IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity theft affects us all. Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com and member of the Bank Fraud & IT Security Report’s editorial board, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients.

A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, “FOX News,” NBC’s “Today Show,” “The Suze Orman Show,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Maury Povich,” “Sally Jesse Raphael,” “The Howard Stern Show,” and “Inside Edition.” The Privacy Learning Institute features him on its Website. Numerous magazines, print news outlets, and wire services have turned to him, as well, for expert commentary on personal security and identity theft. These include Entrepreneur, Woman’s Day, Mademoiselle, Good Housekeeping, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, United Press International, Reuters, and others.

Visit Siciliano’s Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com; blog, www.realtysecurity.com/blog; and YouTube page, http://youtube.com/stungundotcom.

The media are encouraged to get in touch with Siciliano directly:

Robert Siciliano
Personal Security Expert
PHONE: 888-SICILIANO (742-4542)
FAX: 877-2-FAX-NOW (232-9669)
Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com
www.idtheftsecurity.com

The media may also contact:

Brent W. Skinner, President
STETrevisions
PHONE: 617-875-4859
FAX: 866-663-6557
BrentSkinner@STETrevisions.biz
www.STETrevisions.biz

Identity Theft: Expert Lauds Massachusetts’ New Credit Freeze Law—Identity Theft Expert and Speaker on Personal Security

/in , /by

(BOSTON, Mass. – May 18, 2007 – IDTheftSecurity.com) Last week, both houses of the Massachusetts legislature passed versions of a bill that grants residents of the state the right to freeze access to their credit reports. Robert Siciliano, a widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert, said consumers’ access to the credit freeze is an indispensable component of any identity theft–fighting strategy.

“The credit freeze is a basic right essential to consumers in this age of rampant identity theft,” said Siciliano. “Consumers are often the first to realize that someone is using their financial information without permission. The credit freeze is a weapon that empowers consumers to stop these identity thieves’ and credit card fraudsters’ illegal activities quickly and easily.”

CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com and a member of the Bank Fraud & IT Security Report’s editorial board, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for security issues. A longtime identity theft speaker and author of “The Safety Minute: 01,” he has discussed data security and consumer protection on CNBC, on NBC’s “Today Show,” FOX News, and elsewhere.

On May 10, the Massachusetts Senate passed a version of a credit freeze bill that the state’s House of Representatives had passed a day earlier, giving consumers the right to the credit freeze. The bill also required entities operating from that point forward in Massachusetts to disclose breaches of security that result in the purloining of sensitive data such as Social Security numbers and credit card information.

“Here we have a state finally putting two key pieces of the identity theft–fighting puzzle in place,” said Siciliano. “But ‘finally’ is the operative word. The pace of progress has been slow for state and federal legislation alike. The entire nation has needed credit freeze access and compulsory breach disclosure laws for a long time.”

Playing a key role in the reporting of a highly publicized security breach at ChoicePoint, Inc. in early 2005, California’s SB 1386 has for a number of years obligated organizations conducting business in that state to make similar, prompt disclosures of data breaches. And a majority of the nation’s states have preceded Massachusetts in making the credit freeze available to their residents.

Despite their utility as empowering weapons against identity thieves, various sources have indicated that the popularity of credit freezes among consumers has lagged. According to the Consumer Data Industry Data Association, “only about 50,000 people have requested freezes,” reported the Boston Globe on May 12.

“Lack of popularity is no reason to disallow the credit freeze,” said Siciliano. “If anything, consumers may be unaware of this tool’s availability. Consumer education must become a paramount initiative, and the onus of responsibility for this must fall upon the credit reporting agencies.”

Recently, Siciliano appeared on CNBC to discuss credit and debit card scams.

###

About IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity theft affects us all. Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com and member of the Bank Fraud & IT Security Report’s editorial board, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients.

A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, “FOX News,” NBC’s “Today Show,” “The Suze Orman Show,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Maury Povich,” “Sally Jesse Raphael,” “The Howard Stern Show,” and “Inside Edition.” The Privacy Learning Institute features him on its Website. Numerous magazines, print news outlets, and wire services have turned to him, as well, for expert commentary on personal security and identity theft. These include Entrepreneur, Woman’s Day, Mademoiselle, Good Housekeeping, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, United Press International, Reuters, and others.

Visit Siciliano’s Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com; blog, www.realtysecurity.com/blog; and YouTube page, http://youtube.com/stungundotcom.

The media are encouraged to get in touch with Siciliano directly:

Robert Siciliano
Personal Security Expert
PHONE: 888-SICILIANO (742-4542)
FAX: 877-2-FAX-NOW (232-9669)
Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com
www.idtheftsecurity.com

The media may also contact:

Brent W. Skinner, President
STETrevisions
PHONE: 617-875-4859
FAX: 866-663-6557
BrentSkinner@STETrevisions.biz
www.STETrevisions.biz

Identity Theft: Federal Task Force Provides Good Recommendations Too Late—Identity Theft Expert and Speaker on Personal Security

/in , , /by

(BOSTON, Mass. – May 7, 2007 – IDTheftSecurity.com) In late April, the Federal Identity Theft Task Force, formed last year to investigate this crime, released findings and recommendations. According to Robert Siciliano, a widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert, the announcement was one more example of government bureaucracy seemingly unable to counter identity theft in a timely manner.

“Identity theft happens fast,” said Siciliano. “Ask anyone who’s been a victim. A year’s time at the mercy of an identity thief could mean a life’s savings gone. While we need government intervention to stop identity theft, we also need it to happen on identity theft’s timetable, not a bureaucracy’s.”

CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com and a member of the Bank Fraud & IT Security Report’s editorial board, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for security issues. A longtime identity theft speaker and author of “The Safety Minute: 01,” he has discussed data security and consumer protection on CNBC, on NBC’s “Today Show,” FOX News, and elsewhere.

On April 23, President Bush’s Federal Identity Theft Task Force, led by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras, announced its recommendations. The 190-page report addressed a wide spectrum of data and computer crime and its effects, calling for tougher laws against some identity theft–related crimes; longer prison sentences, in some cases, for those who steal electronic data; and improved monetary compensation for victims of identity theft.

One recommendation of note calls for the development of a federal law to supersede state laws that currently require data brokers, or any company, to inform the public when data breaches of certain magnitudes occurs. Thirty-five states already have such laws. One notable example is California’s SB 1386, which compelled ChoicePoint, Inc. to report a massive data breach in early 2005.

On April 20, SearchSecurity.com reported the on the activities of security industry lobbyists, the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, who have claimed that a preponderance of differing state laws makes data breach reporting costly to manage. The group has called for a simplification and nationalization of these requirements.

Although the report addressed these, and many of the other, issues Siciliano champions, he said government works too slowly to combat identity theft.

“Work to complete this report began nearly a year ago,” said Siciliano. “And now it will probably go through another year’s worth, at least, of committee hearings and debates in Congress before anything even remotely resembling it becomes law. In the meantime, thousands, maybe millions, of U.S. citizens have, or will have, fallen prey to identity thieves. A meaningful response to identity theft demands law enforcement initiatives rooted in law. But the system that gets us there is unable to get us there quickly enough.”

Recently, Siciliano appeared on CNBC to discuss credit and debit card scams. Readers may view his appearance here.

###

About IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity theft affects us all. Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com and member of the Bank Fraud & IT Security Report’s editorial board, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients.

A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, “FOX News,” NBC’s “Today Show,” “The Suze Orman Show,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Maury Povich,” “Sally Jesse Raphael,” “The Howard Stern Show,” and “Inside Edition.” The Privacy Learning Institute features him on its Website. Numerous magazines, print news outlets, and wire services have turned to him, as well, for expert commentary on personal security and identity theft. These include Entrepreneur, Woman’s Day, Mademoiselle, Good Housekeeping, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, United Press International, Reuters, and others.

Visit Siciliano’s Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com; blog, www.realtysecurity.com/blog; and YouTube page, http://youtube.com/stungundotcom.

The media are encouraged to get in touch with Siciliano directly:

Robert Siciliano
Personal Security Expert
PHONE: 888-SICILIANO (742-4542)
FAX: 877-2-FAX-NOW (232-9669)
Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com
www.idtheftsecurity.com

The media may also contact:

Brent W. Skinner, President
STETrevisions
PHONE: 617-875-4859
FAX: 866-663-6557
BrentSkinner@STETrevisions.biz
www.STETrevisions.biz