According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were at least 662 data breaches in 2010, which exposed more than 16 million records. Nearly two-thirds of breaches exposed Social Security numbers, and 26% involved credit or debit card data.

The ITRC elaborated, “Other than breaches reported by the media and a few progressive state websites, there is little or no information available on many data breach events that occur. It is clear that without a mandatory national reporting requirement, many data breaches will continue to be unreported, or under-reported.”

The majority of these attacks were malicious hacks or insider theft, rather than the result of employee errors. InformationWeek reports, “Some states, but not all, have data breach notification laws, which require any organization that suffers a breach to notify that state’s affected residents. Interes Full Article…

With RSA 2011 right in our rear-view mirror, we thought it would be appropriate to showcase a number of videos from the big event. And, if you missed out on RSA 2011, fret not. This video series will make you feel as if you were actually there. See you next year at RSA 2012!

RSA Conference 2011 Opening Keynote

Art Coviello Show Insights – RSA Conference 2011

Cloud Security Alliance at RSA 2011 – Keynote: Vivek Kundra CIO White House Part 1

Revere Security – Knight Trailer for 2011 RSA Conference (Great promotional ad)

Account takeover happens when your existing bank or credit card accounts are infiltrated and money is siphoned out. A hacked account or stolen credit card is often to blame.

The drop in account takeover may be due in part to a few different things.

Less breaches. There was a drop in data breaches from 221 million records in 604 breaches during 2009 to 26 million records breached in 404 reported breaches during 2010. Criminal hacker Albert Gonzalez and his gang were responsible for many of those hacked records and he and many of his cohorts are now in jail.

PCI standards. All those responsible for accepting credit cards are now under strict Payment Card Industry Standards rules and regulations that require a level of security that took about 5 years to implement. Full Article…

We are approaching tax time. Scammers are ramped up and looking for your money. Learn these tax season scam tips and watch your back.

1. Text messaging scams or smishing a.k.a Phexting. Like phishing but texting. Criminal hackers have access to technology that generates cell phone numbers and access to mass text messaging services. They send texts that install keyloggers or direct you to websites that steal your data.

2. Tax preparer scams. Reports of tax preparers who tell their clients they have to pay back their stimulus checks, then pocket the money.

3. Basic phone scams. Using the telephone for scams is back. Scammers call your home posing as local fire dept collecting your personal information for their records in case there is an emergency.

4.

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Joseph Kidd, 56 was arrested in California on Tuesday for identity theft.  He had allegedly been using another man’s name for 17-year years to commit crime and fraud.

According to the police, Kidd had been arrested numerous times, sent to prison, and even obtained welfare and medical benefits using Larry Smith’s identity.

Joseph Kidd even got married using the Larry Smith’s name and identity.

The real Larry Smith, 67 who has no criminal record has been trying to clear his name for close to two decades.

Due to the fraud and crimes committed in his name he has been denied medical care and had his driving license suspended.   He h

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In 48-hour period in November, 2009, PlainsCapital Bank transferred over $800,000 from the account of Hillary Machinery to a number of international and U.S. accounts. The problem was that Hillary had not initiated those transfers.

In December of that year the bank sued Hillary. That’s definitely a huh? moment.

The bank sought a judicial declaratory judgment that its security procedures were commercially reasonable and that it had not breached its obligations. In essence, Hillary had demanded that the bank cover the lost funds, claiming that the bank’s security was not commercially reasonable, and the bank preemptively sued to get a judicial authority to rule that its procedures were reasonable, thereby forestalling any legal action by Hillary.

On February 16, there will be a session at the RSA Conference titled Whose Fault Is It That I Didn’t Know It Wasn’t you. This wi

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