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A Word (Actually 370!) On Identity Theft
The previous posts outlined the basics of networks and communications. I don’t believe that you wasted your time reading it. While it may be true that you don’t need to understand the workings of the internal combustion engine in order to drive, that knowledge helps if you’re trying to determine the cause of that knocking sound under the hood. Similarly, understanding how traffic flows over the Internet can help you spot that oil leak before it becomes the Gulf Of Mexico oil spill of data breaches.
Now we turn our focus to defensive technologies. Modern corporations spend a great deal of time, money, and effort evaluating, purchasing, installing, and fine-tuning the technical controls described below for one simple reason: they have to. It truly is not exaggerating to say that high-tech thieves are literally hammering away at our systems, trying to break down the door. Once they get in, the results are potentially devastating.
According to the U.S. Identity Theft Resource Center, in 2008 there were 641 data breach incidents which resulted in nearly 36 million personal records being compromised.
While “good old” identity theft gets all of the headlines, a new—even scarier—trend is emerging: medical ID theft. Although prescription medications often are the target of the theft, in many cases the crooks are after medical treatment.
At best (relatively speaking) the crime can result in the victim receiving a huge medical bill, as a Colorado pilot found out when he learned he owed a hospital $44,000 for a surgical procedure he never had.
A more serious problem arose for a Salt Lake City, Utah mother of four whose identity was stolen. When the woman who pilfered her information gave birth, the baby tested positive for methamphetamines. As a result, the state moved to take away all of the Utah woman’s children.
Also, consider the ramifications of mistakes in your medical record: you could be denied needed medicine because it is contraindicated with medications that the bogus version of you is taking. Or, you could be given blood that is the wrong type.
And, because of the privacy requirements of the U.S. HIPAA regulation, you (despite being a victim) might not be able to view the co-mingled medical records to sort out the fact from fiction.
Now we turn our focus to defensive technologies. Modern corporations spend a great deal of time, money, and effort evaluating, purchasing, installing, and fine-tuning the technical controls described below for one simple reason: they have to. It truly is not exaggerating to say that high-tech thieves are literally hammering away at our systems, trying to break down the door. Once they get in, the results are potentially devastating.
According to the U.S. Identity Theft Resource Center, in 2008 there were 641 data breach incidents which resulted in nearly 36 million personal records being compromised.
While “good old” identity theft gets all of the headlines, a new—even scarier—trend is emerging: medical ID theft. Although prescription medications often are the target of the theft, in many cases the crooks are after medical treatment.
At best (relatively speaking) the crime can result in the victim receiving a huge medical bill, as a Colorado pilot found out when he learned he owed a hospital $44,000 for a surgical procedure he never had.
A more serious problem arose for a Salt Lake City, Utah mother of four whose identity was stolen. When the woman who pilfered her information gave birth, the baby tested positive for methamphetamines. As a result, the state moved to take away all of the Utah woman’s children.
Also, consider the ramifications of mistakes in your medical record: you could be denied needed medicine because it is contraindicated with medications that the bogus version of you is taking. Or, you could be given blood that is the wrong type.
And, because of the privacy requirements of the U.S. HIPAA regulation, you (despite being a victim) might not be able to view the co-mingled medical records to sort out the fact from fiction.
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