Sad State Of Data Security
Businesses and government agencies seem inept when it comes to protecting personal information, as the list of mishaps keeps getting longer.
By Tony Kontzer Larry Greenemeier
InformationWeek
How does this keep happening? Companies have been publicly humiliated, slapped with audits, and threatened with prosecution, but sensitive personal data continues to be compromised. The U.S. Department of Justice is the latest to demonstrate its information-security incompetence. The mistake: exposing Social Security numbers on its Web site.
It’s the IT problem that just won’t go away. From the time early last year that ChoicePoint Inc. admitted it had been duped into revealing personal data to identity thieves, dozens of other businesses, government agencies, and schools have followed with their own admissions of ineptitude. In most cases, victims can’t do much more than keep a watchful eye on their financial statements and credit reports–and hope for the best. Not surprisingly, fraud is on the rise and consumer confidence on the decline.
