Posts from ‘April, 2009’

Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) today offered and passed an amendment to H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act, to strengthen identity theft protections by amending the bill to ensure inactivated credit cards remain on credit reports and prevents lines of credit to be opened in a consumers name without their knowledge. This amendment, [...]

Today a report in the New York Times cites Melissa Hathaway, acting senior director for cyberspace appointed by President Obama, as saying the White House needed to step in and take control of the nation’s cybersecurity policy.
Hathaway was given responsibility for a 60-day review of the issues surrounding cyberspace threats. Yesterday, the federal official said [...]

Now that you have filed your taxes be sure and follow these helpful tips to protect you sensitve information:

When storing a copy of your tax return on your computer, make sure you secure it with a password so that your SSN cannot be read if the file is lost.
Securely delete all electronic, financial documents used to [...]

A new study released by Verizon indicates that last year featured more electronic security breaches than the previous four years combined, with the financial sector becoming an increasingly popular target for intruders.
93 percent of the breaches were from financial firms, and the number of reported incidents related to financial organizations is expected to rise.  For [...]

The FBI and “The Oprah Winfrey Show” say Internet users should beware of an e-mail scam disguised as the “Oprah Millionaire Contest Show.”
The FBI says as part of the scam, the e-mail sender requests contact information. It also asks recipients to buy a plane ticket in exchange for a promised seat to Winfrey’s popular Chicago-based [...]

One of the most dangerous threats ever, a computer worm known as “Conficker,” is spreading through the Internet right now. By some estimates, 10 million computers have been infected worldwide.
Conficker, also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido, is a computer worm targeting the Microsoft Windows operating system that was first detected in October 2008.  The [...]

Sophisticated techniques developed by a new breed of cyber-criminals intent on stealing personal data represent a growing threat to millions of Americans, a top U.S. Justice Department official told Congress Tuesday.
“Skilled hackers are now capable of perpetrating large-scale data breaches that leave hundreds of thousands — and in many cases tens of millions — of [...]

The Federal Trade Commission has launched a Web site to help entities covered by the Red Flags Rule design and implement identity theft prevention programs. The Rule requires “creditors” and “financial institutions” to develop written programs to identify the warning signs of ID theft, spot them when they occur, and take appropriate steps to respond [...]