Everyone has heard of hacking. It's in the news all the time, often related to large corporations being hacked for their data. Since the reports are about corporations, as individuals it can seem like someone else's problem. But the information being stolen could be yours. Your Social Security number, credit card information, medical information--and pretty much any other personal data you can think of--can be hacked. If it does, your identity could be used to rack-up thousands of dollars of debt that you only find out about months later. On average, restoring your good name can take as much as 6,000 hours as well.
Although the government has been working day and night to fight it, busting these criminals could take several years, or sometimes, they can even live their own lives without being caught. For this reason, different public and private financial institutions with theft programs, such as the Federal Trade Commission's "AvoID Theft: Deter, Detect, Defend", are educating people to avoid identity theft while giving assistance to those who have victimized.
Here are a few of the many medical data breaches where hackers have left their indelible mark: A December 2011 report by the Privacy Right Clearinghouse Sensitive estimated that three of the six largest data breaches in 2011 compromised 11 million patient records and healthcare organizations.
The "Deter, Detect and Defend" Program educates people and links to other organizations in both private and public sectors including law enforcement agencies, consumer groups, federal agencies and other trade associations to give consumers options on where to ask for help. The FTC identity theft program releases an informational kit for all organizations fighting identity theft that include a how-to booklet with instructions on educating consumers to aid organizations facilitate outreach programs. It also includes a brochure that these organizations can easily reproduce to give out to people who attend seminars and education sessions. To capture the level of damage identity theft can cause a person's life, a 10-minute video of victims is also included in the program to explain to people how to fight this crime.
For those who would like to take extra measures to ensure that their child's identity remains a blank-slate, third-party monitoring companies offer a variety of services that allow parents to keep an eye on it. Steve Schwartz, executive vice president of consumer services, for Intersections Inc., a provider of corporate and consumer identity risk management services, says his company will offer existing customers a chance to safeguard their children's identities when it rolls out its newest product, kIDSure, this fall.
Although the government has been working day and night to fight it, busting these criminals could take several years, or sometimes, they can even live their own lives without being caught. For this reason, different public and private financial institutions with theft programs, such as the Federal Trade Commission's "AvoID Theft: Deter, Detect, Defend", are educating people to avoid identity theft while giving assistance to those who have victimized.
Here are a few of the many medical data breaches where hackers have left their indelible mark: A December 2011 report by the Privacy Right Clearinghouse Sensitive estimated that three of the six largest data breaches in 2011 compromised 11 million patient records and healthcare organizations.
The "Deter, Detect and Defend" Program educates people and links to other organizations in both private and public sectors including law enforcement agencies, consumer groups, federal agencies and other trade associations to give consumers options on where to ask for help. The FTC identity theft program releases an informational kit for all organizations fighting identity theft that include a how-to booklet with instructions on educating consumers to aid organizations facilitate outreach programs. It also includes a brochure that these organizations can easily reproduce to give out to people who attend seminars and education sessions. To capture the level of damage identity theft can cause a person's life, a 10-minute video of victims is also included in the program to explain to people how to fight this crime.
For those who would like to take extra measures to ensure that their child's identity remains a blank-slate, third-party monitoring companies offer a variety of services that allow parents to keep an eye on it. Steve Schwartz, executive vice president of consumer services, for Intersections Inc., a provider of corporate and consumer identity risk management services, says his company will offer existing customers a chance to safeguard their children's identities when it rolls out its newest product, kIDSure, this fall.
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