Karl Wabst's Library tagged identity →  View Popular

"Every day thousands of people download new applications onto their smart phones without much care for the terms of service they so easily agree to. What most of these people don’t know is they may be volunteering information and allowing for companies to gather data without their consent. Recently a company called Pinch Media was charged with being a little too invasive when it comes to gathering information through their iPhone apps.

According to one iPhone developer, applications using Pinch Media can retrieve information like your phone’s personal ID number and can work in conjunction with other applications like Facebook to determine your gender, birth year and even your exact longitude and latitude. Pinch Media has been accused of gathering information that has nothing to do with its applications. Instead, they have been using this data collection for advertisements and other marketing purposes. Worse, is that this information is often taken without the consent of the user and more often than not does not allow the user the option to stop the information gathering.
Pinch Media has fought back by arguing that they are completely within their rights to retrieve the information as long as the user gives consent when they agree to the terms of the application. Regardless of whether or not the information they gathered is being used for good or ill mannered purposes one thing is certain. Smart phone users should pay more attention to the terms of service they agree to. A simple visit to a software developer’s web site can be the difference between you using your applications and your applications using you. Take the time out to read the fine print, and if you aren’t sure about something - email the company directly with your questions or concerns."

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identity theft Privacy iPhone SmartPhone

"According to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau more than one-third of Americans are unwilling to mail in their census information due to fear of identity theft.

According to the government, this is of major concern. Nearly 10 million people were victims of identity theft last year. This constitutes a 22% increase from the year before, and 43% of these cases didn’t even involve a computer. Instead they involved simple things such as stolen wallets and pilfered trash. Criminals are stealing identities as easily as stealing trash bins in banks and dumpster diving around local homes.

Heith Copes of the University of Alabama at Birmingham stated “What motivates all these offenders is money, and that’s where you see the distinction between street life and those living a middle-class lifestyle. The street-life types, these are the hardcore offenders. They live this life of the party, drugs, going out - this hedonistic lifestyle. And they use the money to support that lifestyle. It’s a cash-intensive lifestyle. It encourages them to commit more crime, and the cycle continues. The middle class is trying to portray a middle-class lifestyle; they’re trying to pay off houses and cars they can’t afford.”

The fact remains that the people who are perpetrating these crimes are not highly sophisticated, technologically advanced, or super geniuses. Rather they are everyday people who could be doing something as simple as going through you trash. Simple precautions such as shredding bank statements and other personal information can be enough to protect yourself from this type of crime."

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Privacy theft identity

Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke was among hundreds of victims of an identity fraud ring that stole more than $2.1 million from consumers and financial institutions across the United States, Newsweek magazine reported on its website.

The head of the U.S. central bank and his wife were swept up in a case against the ring after her purse, with personal checks inside, was snatched at a coffee shop in August 2008, Newsweek reported, citing recently filed court documents.

Someone soon began cashing checks on the Bernanke family bank account, a crime that became part of a wide-ranging federal identity theft investigation that was already underway.

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Identity Theft Bernanke

The state's highest court told Bergen County yesterday to release 8 million pages of real estate documents -- including mortgage information -- to fulfill a request filed under the state's public records law, but that Social Security numbers included in them must be kept private.

The justices also said the company requesting the information should pay the $460,000 it will cost the county to remove the Social Security numbers from records spanning more than two decades.

The court unanimously agreed that the documents, requested by a business that wants to sell electronic access to this information, are public records under the state's Open Public Records Act. But it stressed some of the personal information, if released, would hurt residents.

"The request was made on behalf of a commercial business planning to catalogue and sell the information by way of an easy-to-search computerized database. Were that to occur, an untold number of citizens would face an increased risk of identity theft," Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote for the court.

Bergen County officials called the decision a victory for all New Jersey residents concerned about identity theft.

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Privacy SSN Redaction Identity Theft NJ

During the past decade, rapid developments in information and communications technology have transformed key social, commercial, and political realities. Within that same time period, working at something less than Internet speed, much of the academic and policy debate arising from these new and emerging technologies has been fragmented. There have been few examples of interdisciplinary dialogue about the importance and impact of anonymity and privacy in a networked society. Lessons from the Identity Trail: Anonymity, Privacy and Identity in a Networked Society fills that gap, and examines key questions about anonymity, privacy, and identity in an environment that increasingly automates the collection of personal information and relies upon surveillance to promote private and public sector goals.

This book has been informed by the results of a multi-million dollar research project that has brought together a distinguished array of philosophers, ethicists, feminists, cognitive scientists, lawyers, cryptographers, engineers, policy analysts, government policy makers, and privacy experts. Working collaboratively over a four-year period and participating in an iterative process designed to maximize the potential for interdisciplinary discussion and feedback through a series of workshops and peer review, the authors have integrated crucial public policy themes with the most recent research outcomes.
The book is available for download under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Canada License by chapter below. Hard copies are available for purchase at Amazon & at Oxford University Press.

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Privacy Anonymity Identity LESSONS FROM THE IDENTITY TRAIL

Yesterday, CBC radio's morning show, the current, featured Lessons From The Identity Trail co-author, Ian Kerr, who discussed the book and a number of contemporary challenges that privacy faces in light of emerging technologies with guest host, Nancy Wilson. Below is the the text of Nancy Wilson's introduction and a link to the podcast of the full length interview in segment #3 of the show.



To some people the Internet is the world's biggest commons ... a global public square. For others, it's a realm of shadowy, anonymous figures hiding behind online aliases. But anonymity is becoming less and less a feature of life online. We aired a clip with one perspective on that trend, posted last May on the website, Mobuzz.tv.

Taking responsibility for your actions on line may be just one way you relinquish privacy. Every day, millions of Canadians hop on the Internet to check their e-mail, chat with their friends on social networking sites, book a vacation or buy a gift. And each time they click on a purchase or post a picture, they give up a little bit of their privacy.

With this explosion of information technology - there are those who warn that our anonymity and our right to privacy is in jeopardy. That's the premise of a new book called On The Identity Trail: Anonymity, Privacy and Identity in a Networked Society. Academics, governments and private corporations around the world contributed to the book, which examines how technology is changing the nature of our private lives, and what it means to be "anonymous."

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Privacy Identity Anonymity Canadian On the Identity Trail book

Individuals have been at risk of having their personal information stolen and used to commit identity-related crimes long before the emergence of the Internet. What the Information Age has changed, however, is the method by which identity thieves can access and exploit the personal information of others. One method in particular leaves hundreds of thousands, and in some cases tens of millions, of individuals at risk for identity theft: large scale data breaches by skilled hackers. In this method, criminals remotely access the computer systems of government agencies, universities, merchants, financial institutions, credit card companies, and data processors, and steal large volumes of personal information on individuals. Such large scale data breaches have revolutionized the identity theft landscape as it relates to fraud on existing accounts through the use of compromised credit and debit card account information.
Large scale data breaches would be of no more concern than small scale identity thefts if criminals were unable to quickly and widely distribute the stolen information for subsequent fraudulent use (assuming, of course, that the breach would be quickly detected). Such wide-scale global distribution of stolen information has been made possible for criminals with the advent of criminal websites, known as “carding forums,” dedicated to the sale of stolen personal and financial information. These websites allow criminals to quickly sell the fruits of their ill-gotten gains to thousands of eager fraudsters

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Privacy data breaches identity theft

Most Americans believe the world financial crisis has increased their risk of identity theft or related crimes, according to the latest Unisys Security Index.

The biannual survey of consumers in nine countries found that more than two-thirds of Americans are "extremely or very concerned" about other people obtaining and using their credit or debit card details -- with 90 percent at least "somewhat concerned."

In addition, computer security remains a major concern. More than 40 percent of Americans are extremely or very concerned about security in relation to viruses or unsolicited emails.

Three-quarters of Americans believe that the world financial crisis will increase the risk that they will personally experience identity theft or related crimes. More than one-quarter believe that the risk will increase substantially.

“Financial security for Americans has moved from third place to front and center, number one,” Tim Kelleher, vice president of enterprise security at Unisys, provider of information technology consulting services, told SCMagazineUS.com Monday. “People feel they are much more financially at risk.”

This has major implications for banks and other financial institutions, as well as internet businesses, he said.

“Banks and businesses need to understand that customers are more wary than ever about using services that may compromise their personal data,” Kelleher said. “If economic concerns increase these fears, companies need new strategies to strengthen customer confidence through accountability and transparency, which also plays to part of the Obama administration's call to action for government and business.”

The U.S. Security Index is based on a random telephone survey of 1,004 persons ages 18 and over. The first wave of the study was conducted in August 2007.

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Privacy Identity Theft Credit Crisis Economy Unisys

The Nature of the Problem

Identity theft has been referred to by some as the crime of the new millennium. It can be accomplished anonymously, easily, with a variety of means, and the impact upon the victim can be devastating. Identity theft is simply the theft of identity information such as a name, date of birth, Social Security number (SSN), or a credit card number. The mundane activities of a typical consumer during the course of a regular day may provide tremendous opportunities for an identity thief: purchasing gasoline, meals, clothes, or tickets to an athletic event; renting a car, a video, or home-improvement tools; purchasing gifts or trading stock on-line; receiving mail; or taking out the garbage or recycling. Any activity in which identity information is shared or made available to others creates an opportunity for identity theft.

It is estimated that identity theft has become the fastest-growing financial crime in America and perhaps the fastest-growing crime of any kind in our society. Identity Theft: Is There Another You?: Joint hearing before the House Subcomms. on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection, and on Finance and Hazardous Materials, of the Comm. on Commerce, 106th Cong. 16 (1999) (testimony of Rep. John B. Shadegg). The illegal use of identity information has increased exponentially in recent years. In fiscal year 1999 alone, the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Fraud Hotline received approximately 62,000 allegations involving SSN misuse. The widespread use of SSNs as identifiers has reduced their security and increased the likelihood that they will be the object of identity theft. The expansion and popularity of the Internet to effect commercial transactions has increased the opportunities to commit crimes involving identity theft. The expansion and popularity of the Internet to post official information for the benefit of citizens and customers has also increased opportunities to obtain SSNs for illegal purposes.

On May 31, 1998, in

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Privacy Identity theft DOJ

A defunct payment gateway has exposed as many as 19,000 credit card numbers, including up to 60 Australian numbers.

The discovery by a local IT industry worker was made by mistake and appears to be caused by a known issue with the Google search engine, in which the pages of defunct web sites containing sensitive directories remain cached and available to anyone.

The cached data, viewed by iTnews, includes 22,000 credit card numbers, including CVVs, expiry dates, names and addresses.

Up to 19,000 of these numbers could be active. Most are customers in the US and Britain although some are Australian.

The credit card numbers are for accounts held with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Solo, Switch, Delta and Maestro/Cirrus.

Within the address bars of the cached pages are URLs of companies, including UK retailers of laboratory supplies, sports and health goods, apparel, photo imaging and clothing.

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Privacy Identity Theft Google Cache

In this new age of data protection, where most information is stored digitally and paper shredding is commonplace, you don't need to worry about private information ending up in the garbage, right? Steve Hunt shows that assumption is just plain wrong (includes video).

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Privacy Security Identity Theft

The following is an excerpt from the book The Truth About Identity Theft. In this section of Chapter 11: Social Engineering (.pdf), author Jim Stickley explains how easy it really is to hack a password.

People often ask me how hard it is to hack a password. In reality, it is rare that I ever need to hack someone's password. Though there are numerous ways to gain passwords on a network and hundreds, if not thousands, of tools available to crack encrypted passwords, in the end I have found that it is far easier to simply ask for them.

A perfect example of this type of attack was a medium-sized bank that I was testing recently. The bank's concern was related to the new virtual private network (VPN) capabilities it had rolled out to a number of its staff. The VPN allowed staff to connect directly to their secured network while at home or on the road. There is no doubt that a VPN can increase productivity, but there are some pretty major risks that can come with that convenience. The bank explained that the VPN was tied into its Active Directory server. For people who are not technical, basically this just means that when employees log in via the VPN, they use the same credentials they use to log on to their computer at the office.

So I went back to my office, sat down, and picked up the phone. The first call I made was to find out the name of an employee in the IT department. I called the company's main line to the bank, pressed 0, and asked to speak with someone in the IT department. I was asked what I was calling about, so I told the employee I was receiving emails from that bank that seemed malicious. I could have used a number of excuses, but I have found that if you tie in an unhappy customer with a potential security issue, your call gets further up the food chain. In this case, I reached a man who I will call Bill Smith. I made up a story about the email, and after a few minutes, he was able to explain to me that I had called the wrong bank and it was actually another bank's email address that it was comin

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Privacy Social Engineering Password Crack Identity Theft

LESLIE: The most commonly discussed identity theft cases involve credit cards and bank accounts, but today identity theft also includes obtaining medical care by using a stolen identity. The result can be devastating for a victim of this crime. The victim may be held responsible for paying the fraudulent bills and can be burdened with erroneous health information that is difficult to expunge from official records. Obtaining health and life insurance may become complicated or impossible because an electronic or paper health record may have been created reflecting a life threatening disease that the victim does not have. And more common, health care coverage is denied because the victim has reached his or her insurance benefit cap.

PATTY: It seems that medical identity theft is on the rise. Several of our HIM colleagues have had to address this issue within their organization. HIM professionals, working with IT, finance, legal, etc., can help set policies and procedures to minimize and manage this issue within their organization. So we are on the same page Leslie, what is medical identity theft?

LESLIE: When we think about medical identity theft, we need to think of it as a subset of health care fraud. We also need to acknowledge that it includes two components: medical and financial.

Medical identity theft typically involves records of a thief becoming intermingled with records of an innocent victim. Thus, a victim's medical record could reflect a surgical procedure, medical diagnosis or health history that belongs to the thief. You can see how this might affect accurate treatment of the victim in the future and the insurance nightmares that could result.

PATTY: Nightmare is an understatement! In preparing for our discussion today I searched the Internet for some recent examples of medical identity theft. I couldn't believe what I found! Here are three examples that capture the flavor of this crime:

A 56-year-old retired Florida schoolteacher was billed for the amputation of her right foot. To deal with bill

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Privacy Medical Identity Theft Identity HealthCare

In an attempt to keep pace with new technology, the Legislature has created a new class B misdemeanor that prohibits the unlawful duplication of computer related material (L. 2008, c. 590, eff. Nov. 1, 2008). This law is designed to prevent individuals from reducing personal records, e.g., medical histories, to computer data and circulating such information for profit. Another new law creates the felony crime of Aggravated Identity Theft when the victim is a member of the armed forces and the perpetrator knows that the victim is deployed outside the continental United States (L. 2008, c. 226, eff. Nov. 4, 2008). Finally, a new law prohibits animal owners from leaving their pets in a vehicle without the proper ventilation to prevent extreme temperatures from injuring the animals (Chapter 586, eff. Jan. 23, 2009).

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Identity Thefy NY Law 2009

More than 1,000 patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center had their personal information taken by a former employee in the hospital's billing department, according to hospital officials who said prosecutors allege that the man used the identities to steal from insurance companies.

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Privacy Identity Theft Hospital Fraud

Is lying about one’s identity on the Internet now a crime?
The verdict Wednesday in the MySpace cyberbullying case raised a variety of questions about the terms that users agree to when they log on to Web sites.

The defendant in the case, a Missouri woman, was convicted by a federal jury in Los Angeles on three misdemeanor counts of computer fraud for having misrepresented herself on the popular social network MySpace. The woman, Lori Drew, posed as a teenage boy in using the account to send first friendly and then menacing messages to Megan Meier, 13, who killed herself shortly after receiving a message in October 2006 that said in part, “The world would be a better place without you.”

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Identity cyberbullying

The State Department said Friday it has warned nearly 400 passport applicants of a security breach in its records system that may have left them open to identity theft.

The department has so far notified 383 people — most of them in the Washington, D.C. area — that their passport applications containing personal information, including Social Security numbers, may have been illegally accessed and used to open fraudulent credit card accounts, spokesman Sean McCormack said.

More may be notified as an investigation continues, he said, adding that most of those contacted had not been victimized by identity thieves but all have been offered free credit monitoring for a year.

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Privacy Identity Theft State Department

As part of its effort to fight identity theft, the Internal Revenue Service has developed a method to flag accounts that criminals using stolen personal information have targeted for tax fraud.

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Government tax fraud identity theft nextgov

The Federal Trade Commission is looking for victims of identity theft for a study on the crime, reports Network World. The commission wants input from victims who contacted the FTC between January 1 and May 30, 2008, in order to gauge their experiences while exercising their rights under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act).

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Identity Theft FTC NetworkWorld FACT ACT