A giant data brokerage company exposes the records of more than 145,000 people. A cell phone conglomerate admits that its system was compromised. Anyone with Senate clearance can learn the Social Security number of Brad Pitt.
Exactly what is going on here?
To hear the politicians tell it, identity theft is the inevitable result of a fast-paced information society. Congress now wants to pass new laws that will centralize the investigation and enforcement of identity theft cases--and it certainly should.
To be sure, anything would mark improvement over the current mess. Yet remapping the murky domains of federal agencies alone will not be enough to actually stop or even slow identity theft. So what are we doing to make sure that our nation's databases are protected?
Nothing.
I learned this the hard way. In the process of downloading my 2004 W-2 from a Web-based payroll company, I discovered I could also download the W-2 of every person who had ever been a customer, as far back as 1999.
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You want be able to guess what happened when he called to tell them he had found a hole in the system.
