The 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report – released today by Javelin Strategy & Research (http://www.javelinstrategy.com/) – found that the number of identity fraud victims in the United States increased 12 percent to 11.1 million adults in 2009, while the total annual fraud amount increased by 12.5 percent to $54 billion(1). The report found that protection…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Za: Hijacked IDs are fuelling spending sprees
Identity theft has increased phenomenally in South Africa, reaching such a level that a major retailer is thinking about installing photo-recognition or fingerprint scanners in its stores. Johan Kok, chief operating officer of JD Group, said identity theft had become much more sophisticated in the past five years. Their group is part of the South…
IA: Security breaches of state computer systems in recent years
A number of news sources in Iowa are considering the state’s plans to consolidate its computer systems in light of the recent hack involving the state racing and gaming commission. A listing of 10 breaches involving state computers can be found here. Eight of the 10 breaches are from the education sector.
AU: Extorted companies silent on stolen data
Darren Pauli reports: Desperate companies are buying off data thieves and extortionists to recover stolen data, according to experts. They claim it is “common” for some businesses operating in Australia to pay ransoms to hackers and disgruntled employees to re-secure sensitive information or prevent illicit corporate activities from becoming public. Law firm MMLC Group managing…
The state of data security – or lack thereof – in NY school districts
Yesterday, I posted an item about a Lindenhurst school district audit that indicated that a school district’s funds had been illegally transferred back in 2007 and that the district had not detected the problem. Last month, a similar situation occurred with the Duanesburg School District, also in New York. Dee Alpert, publisher of The Special…
Report Details Hacks Targeting Google, Others
Kim Zetter reports: It’s been three weeks since Google announced that it and numerous other U.S. companies were targeted in a recent sophisticated and coordinated hack attack dubbed Operation Aurora. Until now we’ve only known that the attackers got in through a vulnerability in Internet Explorer and that they obtained intellectual property and access to…