Congress must take action to stop identity theft, pressure group warns

• There have been at least 104 serious "data incidents" in the US since 1 January which represent just the "tip of an iceberg" in serious systemic computer security problems.
• The incidents potentially affect more than 56.2 million individuals, according to the US-based non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC).
• Congressional committees are waging a turf war over a security breach notification law, while companies, governmental agencies and educational facilities are "mishandling information on a daily basis and putting all of us at risk of identity theft".
• What we do know is that security breaches are not new - they have been occurring for years.
• What is different is that now you are hearing about them."
• However, the pressure group admitted that any notification law is only a bandage to cover the more significant problem of personal information leakage, a subject that the ITRC believes industry would rather Congress did not address.
• The ITRC noted that security breaches fall into a number of easily recognisable categories, including lost or stolen computers, unprotected backup tapes lost in transit, hackers breaking into systems and virus attacks.
• "Something has to change or we might as well give up the battle against identity theft and protecting the privacy of our information," the group warned.
• "Congress needs to take action, not at the expense of consumers but in creating laws and assisting companies to better control their information.
• "Under pending [US] legislation, the only time you will hear of a breach is when a company believes there is significant harm that may occur.
• "Responsible corporate lawyers, fraud investigators, computer security specialists and members of law enforcement will tell you that no-one can predict the future or say how a thief might use illegally obtained information."