Legal Issues in Information Security, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 4

Security and Privacy of Consumer Financial Information

IDENTITY THEFT IS A RAPIDLY GROWING CRIME. Consumer financial information is a gold mine for an identity thief. An identity thief can use this information to establish a new identity. Identity theft victims spend time and money repairing damage caused by identity thieves. Victims must repair their good name and their credit. Identity theft is a crime that can have a large impact on a person’s financial situation.

Consumer information is valuable and must be protected. In 2008, 285 million records were compromised in data breaches. The 2013 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report stated that 37 percent of the incidents that it analyzed for the report affected financial ...