WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DATA BREACHES
~ Protect Your Identity
Week is October 16 to 23 ~
October 2011
(Washington, D.C.) — An individual
consumer’s information – social security number, date
of birth, address – is used by many organizations, often
over long periods time. Schools, healthcare facilities
and retailers use it to maintain accounts and administrative
files. The information can fall into the wrong hands,
either through negligence or malicious intent, putting
the consumer at risk of fraud and identity theft, depending
on the type of information that was compromised.
Forty-six states have laws
that require companies to notify consumers in the event
their personal data has been breached. Given the high-volume
of data breaches, consumers may receive multiple notices
from multiple companies. Many choose to ignore the notices
or fail to take advantage of identity theft protection
services. However, research shows consumers should take
these notices seriously: consumers who receive these
letters are four times more likely to become victims
of identity theft than those who don’t (source: Javelin
Research & Strategies).
Some important information
about data breaches:
-
1. Some
data breaches are more serious than others.
Data breaches involving identity-level information
(e.g., SSN, address, phone number) are likely to
be more harmful to consumers and industry than those
involving replaceable account numbers. Deliberate
identity-level breaches pose the greatest potential
for harm to businesses and consumers. Accidental
data breaches are less likely to be harmful than
those resulting from an intentional “hack” or hardware
theft. Data breaches come from many sources. Negligence,
cyber attacks, lost or stolen devices, employee
theft, or negligence on the part of the organization
or one of their vendors, are all sources of data
breaches.
-
2. Credit card and debit cards numbers are targeted
by hackers. Not all card breaches result in
identity theft, it depends on what information on
the card was compromised. If your financial services
company is notified of a breach involving your account
information, they’ll act immediately to shut down
the account and issue a new card.
-
3. Data breaches have decreased, but cyber criminals
increasingly are attacking databases that contain
personal information. Data breaches appear to
be decreasing
since reaching high levels in 2008. Most breaches
are because of negligence, but a recent
study of business breaches shows that malicious
or criminal attacks are on the rise, which is worrisome.
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