Record Data Breaches in 2007, Groups Say
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The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and Social Security numbers soared to unprecedented levels in 2007, and the trend isnât expected to turn around anytime soon.
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Reports of data theft often conjure up images of malicious hackers breaking into remote databases to filch Social Security numbers, credit card records and other personal information.
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An internal investigation is looking into the misuse of National Security Letters to gain access to Americans' phone records, top bureau officials tell privacy groups.
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ID theft milestone reached The total number of US customer records compromised as a result of security blunders has hit the 100m milestone.â¦
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Veterans groups say they will keep pressing for improved data security &amp;#151; and free credit monitoring &amp;#151; after the government found the stolen Veterans Affairs laptop computer containing sensitive data on 26.5 million people.
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The breach at TJX Companies occurred almost a full-year earlier than first thought -- and compromised more payment card data than previously believed, the company said.
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The most common security violations involve insider action, annual survey reports.
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Robert Vamosi talks with data loss expert Dan Geer about identity theft.
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The government agency says four of five incidents involved members of staff accessing databases for unauthorized purposes.
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(InfoWorld) - The Cyber Security Industry Alliance has given the U.S. government D grades on its cybersecurity efforts in 2006, and renewed its call for the U.S. Congress to pass a comprehensive data protection law in 2007. The CSIA, a trade group representing cybersecurity vendors, gave the U.S. government D grades in three areas: security of sensitive information, security and reliability of critical infrastructure, and federal government information assurance. "Government needs to take these issues very seriously," said Liz Gasster, the CSIA's acting executive director and general counsel. Among the problems in 2006: The U.S. Department ofÂ Veterans Affairs reported a data breach involving the personal information of 26.5 million military veterans and family members. Other agencies also reported multiple lost laptops containing personal information. The CSIA called on agencies to notify citizens of data breaches. After a rash of reported data breaches in early 2005, members of Congress introduced multiple bills requiring companies with data breaches to notify affected consumers. ButÂ a breach-notification law failed to pass, partly because of jurisdictional fights between multiple congressional committees. A comprehensive data security bill should include breach notification, but also a requirement that all organizations holding sensitive data -- including private companies, government agencies, nonprofits, and educational institutions -- use reasonable security standards, Gasster said. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has taken action against several companies, but a comprehensive law would give the FTC or another agency broad jurisdiction to investigate data breaches, she said. The CSIA is optimistic a comprehensive data breach law will pass in the next year, even though it stalled in the last Congress, Gasster added. Major data breaches continue to happen, and consumers will increase the pressure on Congress to act, she predicted. In mid-January, retailerÂ TJX Companies Inc. reported a massive data breach. "Consumers just are not going to put up with is," Gasster said. Here's how the CSIA generated its government cybersecurity grades: -- Security of sensitive information, grade D: Congress ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Cyber Crime, allowing the U.S. to work with other signatories on cybersecurity investigations, but failed to pass a comprehensive law to protect sensitive personal information. -- Security and resiliency of the critical information infrastructure, grade D: The Department of Homeland Security appointed an assistant secretary for cybersecurity and telecommunications and implemented some cybersecurity program, but it hasnât offered a clear agenda for its top cybersecurity research and development priorities or established a survivable emergency coordination network to handle a large-scale cybersecurity disaster. -- Federal information assurance, grade D: Government continues to offer a "mixed bag of successes and failures," the CSIA said, with progress within the White House Office of Management and Budget's enforcement of cybersecurity directives and implementation of U.S. President George Bush's Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, requiring agencies to start issuing smart identification cards. But the government needs to do a better job in several areas, including security issues with telecommuting and releasing information on the cost of cyberattacks, the CSIA said. In addition to a comprehensive data protection bill, CSIA called for the U.S. government to strengthen the power of agency chief information officers and called on agencies to increase testing of cybersecurity controls.
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Blog: Auditors say only a fraction of largest intrusions in recent years showed clear evidence of resulting identity theft, but they admit that's not always easy to gauge.
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In 2007 hackers found a new target, Mac OS X.
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(Source: Computerworld) In October/November 2007, Computerworld invited data protection decision-makers at large organizations to participate in a survey on the data protection issues at their organization.  The following report represents top-line results of that survey and is meant to serve as a brief benchmarking tool for data protection decision-makers at large organizations seeking information about their peers' data protection environments.
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Tens of thousands of U.S. consumers  face a greater risk of identity theft after criminals gained  access to a database of personal records compiled by  ChoicePoint Inc., a company spokesman said on Tuesday.
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Blog: Attacks on cash register data are still possible fifteen years after flaws in the systems were cited.
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An independent panel has alleged that the bank data-clearing agency SWIFT broke European privacy laws by giving the U.S. records of financial transfers to help anti-terrorism investigations, according to a news report Wednesday.
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Kidnapping, IP fraud and cyberterror blight trading landscape It's being a difficult year for US businesses operating overseas. Targeted computer attacks in Europe, intellectual property thefts in Asia, natural disasters in Latin America, and terrorism just about everywhere were among the varied threats faced by US firms in 2007, according to a year-end analysis by the US State Department's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).â¦