DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

How Identity Theft Is Like the Ford Pinto

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Dissent

Over on Concurring Opinions, Dan Solove describes a new paper by Chris Hoofnagle:

Professor James Grimmelmann likes to shop at Kohl’s.  So much so that he applied for credit at Kohl’s.  And he got it.

The problem is that James Grimmelmann didn’t really apply for anything.  It was an identity thief.

Grimmelmann was a participant in Chris Hoofnagle’s study about identity theft.  In a really eye-opening paper, Internalizing Identity Theft, 2010 UCLA J. of L. & Tech (forthcoming), Hoofnagle has concluded that one of the main reasons identity theft happens is because companies let it happen.  It is an economic decision.

Back in 1981, in the famous case involving an accident due to a defect in a Ford Pinto, it came to light that Ford knew about the design defect in the car but ignored it because it calculated that paying damages in lawsuits would be less than fixing the design flaw.

Read more on Concurring Opinions.

Category: Commentaries and AnalysesOf Note

Post navigation

← Virginia Adds Medical Information Breach Notice Law
Virginia Adds Medical Information Breach Notice Law →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Why Dumping Sensitive Data on Network Shares is a Liability
  • A militarily degraded Iran may turn to asymmetrical warfare – raising risk of proxy and cyber attacks
  • Pro-Russian hackers disrupt Dutch government websites ahead of NATO summit
  • Iran-Linked Threat Actors Leak Visitors and Athletes’ Data from Saudi Games
  • UK: Oxford City Council still investigating cyberattack from earlier this month
  • Steelmaker Nucor Says Hackers Stole Data in Recent Attack
  • People’s Republic of China cyber threat activity: Cyber Threat Bulletin
  • Ukrainian Web3 security auditing company Hacken suffered an attack that allowed a hacker to create 900 million HAI tokens
  • McLaren provides written notice to 743,131 patients after ransomware attack in July 2024 (2)
  • A state forensics lab was leaking its files. Getting it locked down involved a number of people.

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Sky Views Personal Data as a Potential Weapon in IPTV Piracy War
  • Florida Used a Nationwide Surveillance Camera Network 250 Times To Aid in Immigration Arrests
  • Federal Court Strikes Down HIPAA Reproductive Health Care Privacy Rule
  • The Markup caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech
  • Privacy in the Big Sky State: Montana’s Consumer Privacy Law Gets Amended
  • UK Passes Data Use and Access Regulation Bill
  • Officials defend Liberal bill that would force hospitals, banks, hotels to hand over data

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.