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Identity Theft Expert Speaker Robert Siciliano www.IDTheftSecurity.com

Is Tracking Your Money Online Too Risky?
Mint, Wesabe Claim Security, Convenience
Charlie Triemert, Staff writer

Tim Johnson, 30, says he wanted to do a better job of organizing his family’s finances.
“I just wanted to see how much money we had. I have a Roth IRA and some investments from my grandparents. My wife and I both have 401(k) from our jobs. My wife has a substantial amount of 401(k) from her previous job, as well.”
Tired of the paper clutter, Johnson went out and purchased a version Intuit’s Quicken for around $50.
“It was a little expensive but it helped us gain a better perspective of our finances,” Johnson said.

With the economy in its current funk, more people are turning to online money management tools. Free financial software sites such as Mint, Moneycenter and Wesabe are enjoying an increase in users.

Mint’s founder and CEO, Aaron Pratzer, says more than 625,000 people currently use his budgeting and money management site.
The biggest obstacle for these free financial sites is assuring users that their information is safe and secure.
“I’ve heard a little bit about free financial software options, but I like knowing our information is safely stored on my computer at home,” Johnson said.

Are They Safe?
“There will always be an opportunity — whether from the inside or the outside — for a hacker to get in,” says Robert Siciliano, chief security analyst for OneYou, a Web site that protects consumers from identity theft.

Before entering any sensitive information onto a site, Siciliano says consumers should understand each site’s policies in the event there is a breach.

“It’s important to know who ultimately is responsible for any security failures and what their policy for retribution is,” he said.
On Mint, you never share your name or Social Security number. Also, there is an option that will send a text message if there is an expensive purchase made on your credit card.

“If anything, Mint will help you keep an eye on suspicious activity,” Pratzer said. Pratzer said that even in the event your account is accessed by someone else, the amount of damage they could inflict is minimal. “You can’t move money from account to account on Mint, so they wouldn’t be able to do much,” Pratzer said.

Siciliano said financial sites — whether they are free or not — are required to have the software and encryption methods to protect users.

“As a consumer, I would try my best to understand their revenue model and how they are paying for all that security,” he said.

Free And Accessible
Besides being free, Pratzer said, the best thing about his site, “is that allows you set a budget.

Moneycenter and Mint both allow users to create categories and subcategories for budgeting. Because all of your bills can be computed, users can set goals and the system will offer ways to help attain them.

One of the best features online financial sites offer is accessibility. With an Internet connection and a browser — or sometimes just a mobile phone — you can access all of your financial data.

Help With Taxes
With all your financial information in one place, filing your taxes is a whole lot easier.
“If you’re traveling to New York for business, Mint allows you print off all your business-related expenses, Pratzer said.
Because each site has their financial tools available online, there’s no downloading or software you have to deal with. You’ll always be dealing with their most updated version.

If you upload your credit card information into Mint.com’s system, it will calculate the amount of interest you’re paying and notify you if could save money with another credit card.

This is also how Mint pays for its services. But Pratzer said the system will give you the best rates results regardless of sponsorship.

Mint allows users to set their retirement goals and offers tools to help them reach it. “It’s sort of an automatic financial advisor,” Pratzer said.

Copyright 2008, Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The story Is Tracking Your Money Online Too Risky? is provided by LifeWhile.

www.IDTheftSecurity.com Why Technology Won’t Prevent Identity Theft http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123125633551557469.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Identity Theft Protection Expert Speaker Robert Siciliano www.IDTheftSecurity.com comments on;

Data protection trumps threat pursuit in SMBs’ 2009 security spending

Lovely. A “full percentage point”. Enterprise networks continue to get harder dropping millions into security. SMBs are investing a full percentage point, which if you didnt already chuckle is like saying “we are doing NOTHING”. If your financial portfolio manager told you “Im going to increase your portfolio a full percentage point” would you keep him? Its just not satisfactory. Criminal Hackers are winning and this is why.

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By Linda Tucci, Senior News Writer
06 Jan 2009 | SearchCIO-Midmarket.com

IT executives at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will spend a full percentage point more of their IT budgets on security in 2009 than 2008, according to a new study from Forrester Research Inc. The change will result from a shift in security strategy from computer security threat defense to corporate data protection.

Identity Theft Expert Speaker Robert Siciliano www.IDTheftSecurity.com Comments;

Most of the comments by those polled below are legitimate concerns fraught with desperation and  lack of understanding of the problem.  The proverbial cat is out of the bag. Privacy is dead. Privacy is an illusion. While the masses say they want privacy, the reality is they want cheap goods and convenience. People will give up all their privacy for a free candy bar. While government can and should redact personal data and do what they can to sure up “private information”, the data is already out there. It is up to the individual to understand this and manage their circumstances.

The next generation is growing up via social networks. “Privacy” will be associated with words or phrases such as 8-track tape or “No Doc Mortgage”.

So when someone calls you with your dossier and they use this to extract even more data or to threaten you in some way know what is happening and how. Even if every SSN was redacted, that wouldnt stop identity theft.

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“Panel proposes expanded privacy in public records”

Iowa governments would have greater authority to black out personal information from public records under proposals recommended by a legislative committee.

Advocates say the proposals would protect citizens from identity theft.

But opponents say the unintended results could be alarming, particularly if the public is unable to differentiate between, for example, a convicted sex offender and another citizen with the same name.

“The public has more to fear from government records containing information about them of which they are unaware than the release of information pertaining to them,” said Bill Monroe, executive director of the Iowa Newspaper Association.

Lawmakers formed the Identity Theft Prevention Study Committee, which met in November, to consider how the release of personal information in Iowa could make residents vulnerable to identity theft.

Public concern heightened this year when privacy advocates complained about a land records site, IowaLandRecords.org. The Social Security numbers of thousands of Iowans from all 99 counties were listed on the site, including those of Gov. Chet Culver and Secretary of State Michael Mauro.

Administrators of the site quickly shut down the ability to view details of the records after the advocates pointed out the problem. The group says removing personal information from all the records – called redaction – will cost the state as much as $2.3 million, which includes $500,000 to update its computer programs.

Culver said in an interview this week that he agrees steps should be taken to redact personal information from public records that can be used to steal Iowans’ identities.

However, he said he was not sure how the state would pay for such efforts. County recorders, for example, have proposed increasing an electronic filing fee from $1 to $3 to pay for the redaction effort.

“I think protecting individuals’ identity is important,” Culver said. “Once it gets to the level of security risk, we should take steps to limit how far we go in terms of disclosing things like Social Security numbers.”

The committee made 11 recommendations, several of which would give governments more power to remove Social Security or bank account numbers.

Sen. Steve Kettering, R-Lake View, a member of the study committee, said there is no simple answer to the problem. Lawmakers must find the appropriate balance between protecting identities and maintaining public records that protect the public through transparent government.

“There isn’t an easy solution, and that’s the hard part,” said Kettering, who noted that detailed records are critical in his profession as president of Farmers State Bank in Lake View.

Open-records advocates generally agree that some sensitive information like credit card numbers should not be released. The problem arises if governments redact information such as dates of birth, addresses or other unique identifiers, said Kathleen Richardson of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council.

Richardson said lawmakers need to establish how frequently identity theft occurs through public records. She believes the problem is rare.

“I think there needs to be a demonstrated need of why we need to vacuum public records,” Richardson said. “We also have to carefully consider what our definition of personal information is and make sure it’s not so broad that it wipes out too much information.”

Sen. Steve Warnstadt, D-Sioux City, said the committee has tried to be sensitive to the concerns brought forward by openrecords advocates when making its recommendations. The recommendations will likely be used to help draft proposals during the 2009 legislative session, which begins Jan. 12.

“The point of this is not to restrict access. The point is to prevent identity theft and personal information from being disclosed from people who don’t have a legitimate reason to have that information,” said Warnstadt, the committee co-chairman.

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Identity Theft Expert Speaker Robert Siciliano discusses FTC Issues Report on Social Security Numbers and Identity Theft. Agency Makes Five Recommendations to Reduce Role of SSNs in Identity Theft

All of this below makes total sense. And each recommendation is a step in the right direction to solve the problem. But until all citizens are properly identified and authenticated, the problem wont go away.  Currently there isnt any accountability. With full authentication, accountability becomes possible. Further, the credit bureaus and others relying on readily accessible SSNs are exasperating the problem. Fraud alerts across the board requiring all credit applicants to authenticate will begin to solve the problem. www.IDTheftSecurity.com

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The Federal Trade Commission issued a report today recommending five measures to help prevent Social Security numbers from being used for identity theft. Principal among the report’s recommendations is that Congress consider taking action to strengthen the procedures that private-sector organizations use to authenticate their customers’ identities.

“Identity theft continues to be a major problem in this country, with victims numbering in the millions each year and out-of-pocket losses (primarily to businesses) in the billions of dollars,” the report states.

The FTC report states that adopting nationwide standards for how businesses and other organizations verify the identity of new and existing customers would make it harder for identity thieves to use SSNs and other stolen information to consummate their fraud.

“The first step in minimizing the role of SSNs in identity theft is to limit the demand for SSNs by making it more difficult for thieves to use them to open new accounts, access existing accounts, or obtain other benefits or services,” the FTC states in the report. Currently, the only private-sector organizations subject to nationwide authentication standards are financial institutions regulated by the federal banking agencies. The FTC’s report recommends that Congress consider establishing similar standards to cover all private-sector entities that maintain consumer accounts. Such standards would require organizations to adopt reasonable procedures for authenticating customers, but also would allow them to adopt a program that is compatible with their size and the nature of their business, the report states.

The FTC report also recommends that steps be taken to reduce the unnecessary display and transmission of SSNs, but noted that such restrictions must be approached carefully. A number of important functions in the U.S. economy depend on use of and access to SSNs, and the report concluded that overly restrictive attempts to limit the availability of SSNs could unintentionally curtail those functions. Finally, the report recommends steps to improve data security, increase outreach to consumers and businesses on the protection of SSNs, and enhance coordination and information-sharing among organizations that routinely use SSNs.

The Commission vote to issue the report was 4-0. The report was developed pursuant to a recommendation of the President’s Identity Theft Task Force, which was established in May 2006 to develop a coordinated plan to prevent identity theft, prosecute identity thieves, and help victims recover from the crime.

The report is based on extensive fact-finding by the FTC and other federal agencies, including public comments and a workshop the FTC conducted on December 10-11, 2007. The workshop provided a forum for public-sector, private-sector, and consumer representatives to discuss the various uses of SSNs by the private sector, the necessity of those uses, alternatives available, the challenges faced by the private sector in moving away from using SSNs, and how SSNs are obtained and used by identity thieves.

The report issued by the FTC today focuses on the use of SSNs in the private sector. The Task Force agencies have undertaken a series of measures to curtail the use of SSNs by federal agencies as well. Information on those efforts can be found in the President’s Identity Theft Task Force Report, http://www.idtheft.gov/reports/IDTReport2008.pdf, issued in September 2008, which summarizes the steps taken to implement the Task Force recommendations.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.