Data breaches on the rise in 2008
There’s a sobering new report out by the Identity Theft Resource Center that says data/security breaches are on pace to set a record this year.
From Jan. 1 to June 27, the pace of breaches is 69 percent higher than during the same period of last year. The group, which follows breaches reported by newspapers, state governments and other sources, says there were 342 breaches during that period. That does not, however, reflect the true volume of breach activity.
The actual number of breaches is more than likely higher, due to underreporting, and the fact that some of the breaches reported, which affect multiple businesses, are listed as a single event. The BNY Mellon and SunGard data exposures are examples of these “multiple” events. In one case, the customers and/or employees of at least 45 “entities” were affected by a breach that the ITRC reported as a single event.
I was talking to someone for a story late last week. This fellow insisted that he would never use online banking because he just doesn’t trust it. I suspect he’ll see something like this and feel even more sure of himself.
What do you think? How safe is all that personal data (social security numbers, credit card data, etc.) we have stored with our banks, doctors and businesses?
Tim has covered a wide range of topics, including tourism, crime, aviation and gambling, since becoming a reporter in 1990. The Oklahoma native joined the Post-Dispatch in 2007 after spending nine years in Orlando. In his spare time, he's often exploring one virtual world or another. He can be reached at tbarker@post-dispatch.com. 
While that fellow may feel safer because he does not use online banking, he should be very watchful of his personal information. Your information is in a computer system at the bank. While banks and their partners are working hard to secure this information, there is always the risk that someone will find a way to get in. It’s sad how we thought computers were going to free us of all this work, when instead they have created much more troubles for us and much more opportunities for the opportunists.
Tips for online banking:
Make sure you are using a secure connection. Only use sites that you can trust. Smaller outfits that ask for a credit card number, may not be putting proper security in place within their web site to avoid expoitation and extraction of sensitive information.
Never enter an SSN on a web site. Be very suspicious of any site that asks you for one.
If you are not making a purchase, you should not have to provide a credit card number and expiration date.
If you suspect something fishy, give Customer Service for the web site a call. You may want to use a service number provided to you outside of the web site you are on (if you are hitting a fake site, they can fake a phone number for you to call).