Data Black Market Thrives - Twenty-Four Seven Security

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July 21, 2008
Data Black Market Thrives

An article over at the Baltimore Sun shows how very easy it has become for the bad guys to go shopping for someone's name and social security number before they actually go shopping. It's gotten so easy, in fact, one almost expects a 'Dummies Guide to Internet Identity Theft' to go on sale at the local bookshop.

Illegal ID marketplaces are thriving in international chat rooms, message boards and Web sites that specialize in the trade of personal and financial data for crooks and thieves. And the TJX data theft, which handed over 47 million credit card numbers, was really just the tip of the data-theft iceberg.

The article goes on to describe someone who believes their identity first got hacked from their Paypal account several years ago, and who since then has had trouble keeping a lid on his identity. Basic advice on protecting your identity: keep a close eye on all your accounts, read your statements carefully, and also make sure you change your passwords (every other month is the recommended frequency), and make sure your passwords aren't easy to crack, like just writing password (uh-oh, I've got a few quick changes to make myself, there, now I'm back), and it wouldn't hurt to read our latest security feature, Encryption Protects Data -- Period.