DataBreaches.Net

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

Data Resellers Liable for Downstream Security Failures

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Dissent

Leslie Fair of the FTC comments on recent settlements that were reported earlier this month:

Of course, no legitimate business would put out a welcome mat for crooks.  But as the FTC’s data security cases make clear, that’s the effect when companies fail to take reasonable steps to secure sensitive information in their possession — or data they allow others to access.  Three recent settlements with companies that resell credit reports illustrate that point.

The companies contract with the nationwide credit reporting agencies to assemble data about a person in a single “trimerge report,” which they resell to mortgage brokers and others to determine credit eligibility.  The reports are a veritable all-you-can-eat buffet of sensitive data:  name, current and former addresses, Social Security number, date of birth, employment history, trade lines, account numbers — the works.  Businesses that buy the trimerge reports get them through an online portal, accessible with a user name and password.

The FTC’s complaint recaps a number of lapses in the resellers’ security practices.  What’s notable for data security watchers is that the allegations relate primarily to the resellers’ mistakes with regard to their clients’ access to the data.  For example, the FTC complaint cited their failure to take reasonable steps to assess the risks of allowing clients with unverified or inadequate security to access credit reports through the portal and their failure to maintain an effective system for monitoring clients’ access to detect suspicious activity.

Read more on FTC.

Category: Commentaries and Analyses

Post navigation

← Web glitch allowed access to others’ data
Study reveals security weaknesses in file-sharing methods used in clinical trials →

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 (1)
  • 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.