Book Description

The loss of personally identifiable information, such as an individual's Social Security number, name, and date of birth can result in serious harm, including identity theft. Identity theft, a serious crime that impacts millions of individuals each year, occurs when such information is used without authorization to commit fraud or other crimes. While progress has been made protecting personally identifiable information in the public and private sectors, challenges remain. This testimony summarizes: (1) the problem of identity theft; (2) steps taken at the fed., state, and local level to prevent potential identity theft; and (3) vulnerabilities that remain to protecting personally identifiable information, including in fed. information systems. Illustrations.