IdentityHawk's October 2011 report accounted for 58 publicly known breaches. IdentityHawk members, armed with information, could take action to help "stop fraud before it starts"
IdentityHawk® reported 58 publicly known breaches in October compromising 12,279,616 online records. The results are part of the "breached institutions" listing from The IdentityHawk October 2011 Identity Breach Report. A Ponemon Institute Research Report, entitled "State of Web Application Security Survey" (February 2011) reported that 93% of organizations have been hacked at least once in the past two years.
A data breach, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), is "an event in which an individual's name plus Social Security Number (SSN), driver's license number, medical record, or a financial record/credit/debit card is potentially put at risk – either in electronic or paper format."
According to Jeff Paradise, executive director of IdentityHawk, "Identity theft breaches are often initiated because identity thieves steal thousands of records in batches from major enterprises. In fact, in 2002; former White House Cyber Security Advisor, Richard Clarke warned us. He was quoted as saying to enterprises, 'If you (enterprises) spend more on coffee than on IT security, you will be hacked. What's more, you deserve to be hacked.'" http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-840335.html
Unfortunately, Paradise continued, "Many organizations, a decade later, are still not spending enough and are not vigilant enough when it comes to protecting enterprise data. Yet, hackers have become more aggressive and sophisticated."
Added Paradise, "If an enterprise is breached, such as a major e-tailer, consumers need to be aggressive." Paradise recommends these steps:
1. Immediately see the details of the breach.
2. Determine if you are affiliated with the fraud event.
3. If affiliated with the breach (for example if you bought something from a retailer online or offline using a credit card, your information could have been compromised) IdentityHawk, or others can, guide members through the specific steps needed to take protective measures.
"The most important step is to have early knowledge of a breach and take immediate action," Paradise concluded.
IdentityHawk's constant data breach alert service is part of IdentityHawk's comprehensive "Fraud Screening." It assures that IdentityHawk members can take swift action to protect their personal identity.
About IdentityHawk
IdentityHawk is a leading identity protection service that aggressively zeroes-in on potential threats to help consumers safeguard their identity. Members are warned of potential identity risks so they can take better control to stop fraud before it starts. IdentityHawk is a product of FYI Direct, Inc., a leader in direct-to-consumer credit and identity protection services. For more information, go to www.identityhawk.com.
Contacts:
For FYI Direct, Inc.
Rob Wyse, 212-920-1470
rob.wyse@fyidirect.com