Disclosing Data, Despite Breaches

The ticker tape of data breaches in the last few months has been astounding. Many have called 2011 “The Year of The Hacker“ and that prognostication has rung true, without question. Halfway through the year, data breaches are an incessant news story.

And despite the constant stream of bad news, consumers continue divulging a tremendous amount of data to retailers, auction sites, dating sites, and gaming sites. While awareness of fraud and cybercrime is at an all time high, consumers seem to feel they don’t have much of a choice but to provide all their data.

People have grown to love the Internet and all the conveniences it offers, both commercially and socially. In my household, little people under five years old whack away at online iPhone games, never knowing what it’s like not to have the Internet.

Many seem to feel that their privacy is the price they must pay for all this connectedness and convenience, and are even willing to put their personal security at risk in exchange.

Scammers know and are capitalizing on this. There isn’t an online gamer, dater, social networker, or consumer today who isn’t at some level of risk.

While all necessary defenses must be employed to prevent hackers from compromising data, an additional layer of protection should be implemented to keep them off websites in the first place.

Every one of these platforms would do well to stem the tide of fraud by incorporating device reputation. One anti-fraud service offering fast and effective results is iovation’s ReputationManager 360. This service incorporates device identification, device reputation, and real-time risk profiling. Hundreds of online businesses prevent fraud and abuse by analyzing the computer, smartphone, or tablet connecting to their websites, and with iovation’s service, they stop 150,000 online fraudulent activities each day.

Robert Siciliano, personal security and identity theft expert contributor to iovation, discusses another databreach on Good Morning America. (Disclosures)