Sidebar: Credit Reporting Firm Hit by Theft of Confidential Data

By Jaikumar Vijayan

November 14, 2005 12:00 PM ET

Recommended

(4)

Digg

Twitter

Share/Email

Computerworld - TransUnion LLC, one of the three major credit-reporting companies, last week became the latest large business to report a security lapse involving the potential compromise of confidential customer data.
The Chicago-based company disclosed that a password-protected desktop PC containing Social Security numbers and other personal information belonging to more than 3,600 consumers was stolen from one of its sales offices in California last month. The theft prompted TransUnion to send notices to the people who were affected by the breach, informing them of the theft and offering a year's worth of free credit monitoring services.
TransUnion also has been monitoring the credit reports of affected consumers since the theft occurred, the company said in a statement. "At this point, we do not believe there is any indication of any fraudulent activity," it added.
However, Prat Moghe, CEO of Tizor Systems Inc., a Maynard, Mass.-based vendor of activity auditing tools, said via e-mail that the breach could have a wider impact if information stored on the stolen PC enables whoever has it to access databases holding information about people other than the initial set of victims.
TransUnion maintains credit histories on consumers for use by lenders and other businesses. Its breach is the latest in a series of high-profile data compromises that have raised concerns about identity theft and prompted federal lawmakers to propose several IT security regulations.
The company said that it notified local law enforcement authorities of the break-in and that it has assembled an internal team to investigate the incident.

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

Security

Additional Resources

Xerox

Win a color printer!

By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!

Microsoft

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 today.

Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Share our Strength
Download Now

Lower the Cost and Complexity of a Mobile Workforce through Automation
Download This Resource Now!

Top 10 Things to Know about Data Protection
Download Now

Managing Mobility: Improve Data Security, Compliance and Manageability
Download This Resource Now!

Top 10 Actions a CIO Can Take to Prepare for a Hurricane
Download Now

Managing Secure File Transfer to Save Time, Money and IT Resources
Learn how companies are using innovative technology to overcome these challenges and improve user productivity by offloading e-mail attachments and replacing FTP with...

Ponemon Study: The Business Risk of a Lost Laptop
Download Now

Security Convergence Equals Network Security Cost Savings
Listen to IBM Internet Security Systems' take on network security convergence.

Airport Insecurity: The Case of Lost Laptops
Download Now

Disaster Recovery 2008: Reduced Costs and Improved Performance
How long can your Enterprise afford to be without your data? With an accelerated disaster recovery program, you never have to answer this...

All White Papers | All Webcasts