No Kidding
In what was hopefully the last major data breach of 2005, Marriott International reported last week that its time-share division “is missing backup computer tapes containing credit card account information and the Social Security numbers of about 206,000 time-share owners and customers, as well as employees of the company.”
USA Today last week called 2005 “the worst year for breaches of computer security” and noted that “At least 130 reported breaches have exposed more than 55 million Americans to potential ID theft this year.”
Perhaps the most outrageous breach was this one — although the numbers of records involved was relatively small, the fact that it occurred at a company whose “product is used by law enforcement agencies, government investigators and Fortune 1000 companies to track down and investigate digital break-ins, as well as perform network and software audits,” plus the fact that most of the records stolen are of law-enforcement personnel, as the linked article notes, “puts an unsavory end to a year rife with database breaches.”
A lot of horses left the barn in 2005, so now it’s time to close the door — From Network Computing magazine:
Survivor’s Guide to 2006:
Priority No. 1:
Data Protection
Of course it’s better late than never, but where have y’all been during the past couple of years?
