PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

Key Quotes from BREACHED!

Breached - Solove and Hartzog 11

Professor Woodrow Hartzog and I selected some key quotes from our new book, BREACHED! WHY DATA SECURITY LAW FAILS AND HOW TO IMPROVE IT (Oxford University Press 2022). Website for Breached!  Breached! Amazon Page Download Chapter 1 for free The Law’s Obsessive and Unproductive Focus on Data Breaches “Too much of the current law of data security […]

BREACHED! WHY DATA SECURITY LAW FAILS AND HOW TO IMPROVE IT (Oxford University Press 2022)

Breached - Solove and Hartzog 05

I’m delighted to announce that my new book, Breached!, with Professor Woodrow Hartzog is now out in print: BREACHED! WHY DATA SECURITY LAW FAILS AND HOW TO IMPROVE IT (Oxford University Press, March 1, 2022) Website for Breached!  Breached! Amazon Page Excerpt from the book jacket description: Drawing insights from many fascinating stories about data breaches, Solove […]

How the FTC Can Readily Halt Identity Theft

by Daniel J. Solove Identity theft is terrible crime, and it can wreak havoc on victims’ lives. In an identity theft, the thief uses a victim’s personal information to improperly access accounts, obtain credit in the victim’s name, or impersonate the victim for other purposes. But there is an effective way to stop a lot […]

Verifying Identity: From One Foolish Way to Another

Social Security Numbers

For quite some time, banks and financial institutions have been using people’s Social Security Numbers (SSNs) to verify their identities. Suppose you want to access your bank account to check your balance, change addresses, or close out the account. You call the bank, but how does the bank know it’s really you? For a while, […]

More Data Lost: 1.3 Million Student Loan Recipients

Data Breach

From CNET: About 1.3 million customers of a Texas provider of student loans are at risk of ID fraud, after a contractor lost computer equipment with sensitive information on them. The equipment, which was not identified, contains the names and Social Security numbers of the borrowers, the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan company said in a statement […]

The Government’s Data Security Breach and “Data Neutralization”

Digital Person Privacy

The AP reports an enormous breach of data security by the government: 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. The information involved mainly those veterans who served and have been discharged since 1975, […]

Identity Thief Professors?

Identity Theft

If you’re a professor, want to make a quick buck?  Apparently, some professors have joined the ranks of identity thieves.  A community college professor stole the identities of three of his students and used them to fill out credit card applications in the students’ names.  According to a CNN story [link no longer available]: