Data Security Gets Political
Today, John Leland and Tom Zeller Jr. of the New York Times write the first in a series about identity theft called “Stolen Lives”:
Data breaches in the last year have exposed the personal information of more than 80 million Americans, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit organization that follows identity theft. On May 3, a thief stole computer disks holding the names, Social Security numbers and other information of 26.6 million veterans from the residence of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee who had taken the data home without authorization. In most states, organizations are not required to tell consumers if their identities have been compromised.
“It’s the sharing of data without necessary safeguards that enables this crime to grow as it has,” said Torin Monahan, an assistant professor of justice and social inquiry at Arizona State University. “The response is always ‘protect yourself, go to these workshops, get a shredder.’ That diverts attention away from the extent to which these are systemic problems.”
Seventeen states have passed “credit freeze” laws enabling consumers to prevent banks or credit agencies from issuing new accounts in their names.
But here, as in other states, businesses have successfully opposed such legislation.
“They’re fighting us tooth and nail,” said Mr. Hartle, who runs ID Theft Services Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides free help for victims.
“Banks, credit card companies, retailers want to make it easy to buy,” Mr. Hartle said. “They write off identity theft as a cost of doing business. So whenever legislation comes up that’s going to cost them money, they throw themselves against it.”
On Sunday, Hubert Herring of the New York Times covered a poll I did for the Cyber Security Industry Alliance:
All the more reason, then, to take note of a survey for the Cyber Security Industry Alliance that shows, among other things, that nearly half of likely voters may turn against any member of Congress who opposes swift action on data security. And that survey, of course, was taken before the loss of the veterans’ data.
By devoting so many inches to the story, the New York Times is not just displaying an awareness regarding the growth in identity theft. They also sense a political fight brewing, with elected officials and candidates taking contributions from financial institutions with an interest in keeping identity theft quiet on one side and, on the other side, electeds and candidates who see a political opportunity in taking the pro-consumer position.
Also on Sunday, the San Jose Mercury News opined that “The American people should join with aggrieved veterans to demand that Congress do a better job at protecting them from identity theft.”
Given that my poll shows that there is a strong incentive for lawmakers to pass laws that protect the public’s personal data, I think the Merc will get its wish.
