There are two things every American and Canadian should know about cyber attacks –they are real, and most Identity Theft Protection Plans may disappoint you. Let’s deal with each in turn. In concert with our partner, Kroll Associates, we continue to explore the terrible threat that cyber attacks are posing for companies, their employees and customers served by them. What may be surprising is that we found a high concentration of security attacks and breaches in three main industries. In the cases we covered in 2013, those three industries accounted for nearly two-thirds of all client events: healthcare(38%), educational institutions (13%) and financial institutions (9%). What is fascinating is that each of these industries show very distinct characteristics. Let’s begin with the healthcare industry. Our2013 cases show that approximately 78% of healthcare cyber crises were tied to human error and 22% involved an act of malicious intent. Of all breaches,51% in the healthcare industry were tied to insiders. And we’re not talking solely about malicious people with a company ax to grind, although they are part of the problem. Employees with the best of intentions are still careless;data is mishandled and files are disposed of improperly. By contrast, the higher education market witnesses more malicious acts. Indeed, over 73% of cyber events in the higher education market were traced back to a malicious act. It makes one ask, Are criminals more drawn to stealing data from educational institutions? The answer may well be yes because educational institutions pose unique challenges from a security perspective. Educational institutions are populated with innovative, technically adept users within cultures that promote adaptation and change. The collaborative, open nature of most institutions makes the implementation of security protocols a challenge. It is true that HealthInsurance Portability Accounting Act (HIPAA) has aided healthcare institutions as they have updated their security protocols. Universities lack this same regulatory oversight. The other key learning from our 2013 experience is that the vast majority of identity thefts are undiscovered with credit monitoring. Sadly, more and more Americans and Canadians are spending money for credit monitoring or identity theft protection, and they expect to be shielded from harm. According to a 2012 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, 88.7% of cases of identity theft would not have been found via credit monitoring alone. Worse still, when an individual’s identity is stolen, they generally expect “restoration,” but unfortunately find they will only receive “resolution.” Resolution is the solution that an identity theft product offers and every solution varies. Solutions can come in the form of a kit that is sent out with instructions on how to restore your identity or it could be victim assistance, where the victim calls into a call center and speaks directly to an assistance advisor. The advisor’s have some very clever names, like a crises coach, guidance investigator, or a personal advocate working on the victims behalf. The truth is that the victim is still required to do most of the work and the FTC reports that it takes on average 175 hours or more to restore a victim’s identity. A company that provides “Restoration” means that they do the work on behalf of the victim by signing a limited-power of attorney. A limited power-power of attorney (limited to only interacting on the victim’s behalf with the credit reporting agency’s, DMV, etc.) allows a restoration company todo most of the work on a victim’s behalf so that the victim can get on with their lives. The restoration company’s also have the ability to restore the identity for the victim much faster because of the training and relationships they have with the credit reporting agency’s, DMV, Social SecurityAdministration and Post Office which all are contacted and notified that identity theft has taken place. The public needs to take the threats seriously, and know the difference between “marketing glitz” and “substantive protection.” At LegalShield, we provide Identity TheftProtection with full restoration. Please join us and allow us to serve you.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 15:24:54 +0000
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