Data Theft

I read with dismay of a report that security was compromised and personal information was stolen from a leading national university in the US. My question is what is the punishment suitable for such a crime? Is this the greatest robbery so far? Are we so vulnerable when it comes to databases? Who is the customer for such kinds of information? How could such an act be perpetrated, yet we are under surveillance 24/7? Is any of our information secure?

I quote: "On Friday, April 21, computer system administrators at The University of Texas at Austin discovered that a number of electronic records had been accessed from the McCombs School of Business computer server without authorization by an external internet address. These data include social security numbers and other information (name, date of birth, zip code) related to an undetermined number of alumni, faculty, staff, students and corporate recruiters of the business school."

see: www.utexas.edu...

What follows is my personal opinion, so take it for what it is worth.

Yes, we are at risk when it comes to databases and the security of our information. The level of software encryption will keep out the common computer user, but not someone who is a little more experienced. There have been several databases broken into at Universities and corporations in the last couple years. I'm sure that Google could throw you up a list of several.

As far as punishment, it can be a federal offense (I think).

I recently joined my bank's "online banking department" so that I could do some of the balancing of my checkbook online and I went into one of the branches and asked about their level of encryption.

Oh, boy... did I stir up a hornet's nest.

They wanted to know who I was, what my account number(s) was to verify me as a customer, what I wanted the information for, etc., etc... I told them that I was nervous about their level of security online and explained who I was and how long I had been a customer with them.

Their only reassurance to me about their security was that it was "off the shelf" encryption and that "no one has ever broken into our server, or tried to, that we know of, so you should be safe."

Yeah, that left me comfortable.

My point is, the companies or Universities are not going to make their security any deeper than they feel they have to. As more companies collect personal data about you the problem will only become worse.

JDub

Check out this link:

imdb.com...

Tagline: Her driver's license. Her credit cards. Her bank accounts. Her identity. DELETED.

Angela Bennett is a computer expert. This young and beautiful analyst is never far from a computer and modem. The only activity she has outside of computers is visiting her mother. A friend, whom she's only spoken to over the net and phone, Dale Hessman, sent her a program with a weird glitch for her to de-bug. That night, he left to meet her and was killed in a plane crash. Angela discovers secret information on the disk she has received only hours before she leaves for vacation. Her life then turns into a nightmare, her records are erased from existence and she is given a new identity, one with a police record. She struggles to find out why this has happened and who has it in for her.

This movie is called The Net and it stars Sandra Bullock. It was done in 1995 and touched on a subject that is all to real. This indicates what can be done if somebody were to claim your identity. Somebody who really nobody remembered, co-workers did not really remember her after work so she could be replaced in the blink of an eye.

In todays world this is all to common, and could happen to alot of us.

I would recommend checking out this movie if this topic is of interest to you.

....well if they would stop outsourcing the IT jobs perhaps there would be more people to secure networks an such.Difficult to do IT remotely no? They should secure their connections over public networks with IPsec or some other tunneling encryption.

There are levels encryption that can be enabled with within the client browser.

[edit on 27-4-2006 by XphilesPhan]

Well then , why do THEY out-source IT jobs?

Originally posted by aSEEKER
Well then , why do THEY out-source IT jobs?

because they can get someone who will do the work for pennies on the dollar. but you also get what you pay for IMO.

I was even more shocked to read that now the Pentagon's data security has been compromised and undermined.

I quote: "An intruder gained access to a Defense Department computer server and compromised confidential health care insurance information for more than 14,000 people, the department said Friday."

Source: news.yahoo.com...

Someone serious is on the prowl, and I don't think it's the axis of evil.

Originally posted by XphilesPhan

....well if they would stop outsourcing the IT jobs perhaps there would be more people to secure networks an such.Difficult to do IT remotely no?

They should secure their connections over public networks with IPsec or some other tunneling encryption.

There are levels encryption that can be enabled with within the client browser.

[edit on 27-4-2006 by XphilesPhan]

Outsourcing in no way means lesser quality, just costs the company less. Level of training is the same or higher in fact. Personal data on a personal computer is up to the owner to secure. Data bases are controlled by source programs and corporate security software. Open to hackers yes, but not because they are outsourced.

Here is some reason why outsourcing is good for business.

www.brickred.com...

If someone can erase your identity then why is someone like Bob Lazar and others in past not believed? I don't have to believe 100% of what someone says to believe most of what they say.

Originally posted by valkeryie

Outsourcing in no way means lesser quality

yeah....uh huh ok.....and thats why the record amount of complaints, people hanging up, etc......

dont buy the baloney the corporations are putting out, what saves the company a few bucks is good for everybody, thats baloney.....

usually companies return the outsourced jobs withing a few years.....

Never had anyone hangup on me. Just singing praises about how good we are and how the local office sucks.

Thieves Steal Personal Data of 26.5M Vets:

I quote: "Thieves took sensitive personal information on 26.5 million U.S. veterans, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, after a Veterans Affairs employee improperly brought the material home, the government said Monday. "

Source: news.yahoo.com...

Is this starting to get tiresome, worrisome, or what?