News & Reports

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Every day, we hear about data compromises, identity theft, compliance failings. What does it all mean... and what are the ramifications for businesses, their customers and partners?

Here's where we round up and assess the latest stories on data and security issues as reported by leading publications, analyst firms, and advocacy groups.

A Chronology of Data Breaches

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

January 2, 2008 – Data breaches at major institutions have become all too commonplace, with the problem escalating out of control in 2007. The nonprofit consumer organization Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), details on its Web site a litany of data breaches that have occurred in the U.S. since 2005. In all, more than two hundred and sixteen million consumer identities have been lost or otherwise compromised. As PRC reports, "the personal information compromised includes data elements useful to identity thieves, such as Social Security numbers, account numbers, and driver's license numbers." These two hundred and sixteen million cases represent the known data losses; it's entirely logical to conclude that actual losses are much higher.

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Outsourcing Your Data: The Dangers of Moving Offshore

InfoWorld

March 27, 2006 – This InfoWorld article reports on insider theft at Indian call-centers, with U.K. tabloid, The Sun, stating "that its reporter, operating undercover, was sold top secret information on 1,000 bank accounts by a call-center employee in Delhi, who said he obtained the data from contacts at call centers in and around Delhi." This is worrying because it is largely beyond our control (City of London Police confirmed that they were investigating the Sun's allegations but said they did not have jurisdiction in the matter).

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) has also said that employees of call centers in India are selling the personal information of thousands of Australians.

None of this, of course, is peculiar to India, but the trend toward offshore outsourcing does serve to escalate risk. Organizations that we've traditionally trusted are moving key business processes and data offshore in order to reduce costs; in the process, they've surrendered overall control and exposed us to unprecedented risk.

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