Electronic Identity Threats - Case Study Example

1 The paper will discuss the challenge of rising identity thefts in the UK. As every year the number of identity theft is increasing along with the cost and mental stress the victims has to bear associated with the severity of the theft. The organizations are penalized due to miss management of personal information and the civil courts are also involved. Over the past the government has launched websites and agencies to facilitate individual users and corporate organizations regarding the guidelines of protecting personal data. Currently there are 19 agencies and websites working in full capacity related to every domain for protecting economy. 2 Introduction Internet has become the fastest growing technology. As the Internet continuous to evolve, threats related to hacking and security breaches are protected by cryptographic protocols but electronic identity theft has risen. According to the statistics available on ‘CIFAS’, identity fraud has taken a stride forward with the increment of 10% in the first nine months of 2010 as compared to the year 2009, the imitation has augmented to 18.38% from the same period in the year 2009(, CIFAS calls for unified action to tackle identity fraud - CIFAS Online ). Data stolen by cyber criminals are trade in or being sold to the other parties for financial gain. Identify theft is defined as the confidential information of an individual is used to trade in for money by means of fraud. The impact of this threat occurs on the person who has opened a bank account or registered on any website for any purpose providing full name, address, birth date and other relevant information. The attacker can use the information of user identity for obtaining money or goods by fraud. 3 Electronic Identity Threats Evaluation Identity theft which is more likely a crime is spreading at a robust pace in the United Kingdom. According to statistics from Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance Services (CIFAS), more than 70,000 people were the victim last year which is massive (, identity, fraud - MoneyWeek). It is a fraud which is conducted by a cyber criminal with the stolen information of someone else data. The data may include driving license, passport, identification card, bank statements, and data available online for example, username, passwords, birth dates, and secret questions. By gathering this information a cyber criminal can attacks bank account of the individual to take cash from bank account and reimburse new bank loans, credit cards without knowing the individual or the victim. There is another dimension of electronic identity theft which can be conducted to physically steal personal documents including bank statements, cheque books, investigate trash bags for confidential data and steal mails from the post boxes. The association for payment clearance services provides statistics of the total loss of £37 million last year as compared to the 66% rise of the previous year. The total cost associated with combating electronic theft is a gigantic figure of £1.3 billion (, identity, fraud - MoneyWeek).The identity theft has become trendier with attacks organized with cyber gangs who also operate from other countries. Cyber criminals within the UK are also not registered on the home office as they are illegal immigrants and are not identified by the government. The impact of these identity threats to the victims varies and may be minimal in terms of a single fraudulent application or online transaction. As compared to severe identify thefts which are successful by comprehensively organized crime, results in immense distress for the victim. In a typical identity theft, the victim might prove his credibility between three to forty right hours. On the other hand of there is a case of a major identity theft involving multiple corporate organizations, the victim has to suffer for up to 200 hours along with the approximated cost of £8,000 for sorting the matter to normal. The victim may severely damage their credit status as this will halt them to avail services including finance, insurance and even vehicle mortgage will be compromised until the resolution and identification of the theft is extracted. As far as law and financial institutions are concerned, organizations are considered to be the victims because they are the one who have been defrauded. These matters are most likely to be conducted in the civil courts (, Is ID fraud serious? - CIFAS Online). There are complex issues in the context of recording frauds in the UK which are conducted commonly on a day to day basis. New statistics from the national fraud agency estimates that identity cost more than £2.7 billion every year in the UK and affecting over 1.8 million people(, No Title ). The identity fraud steering committee figures estimates in 2008 that the total cost of identity frauds per year is £1.2 billion. The department for work and pension has predicted £800 million was lost to benefit fraud in the year 2006 and 2007. The threat assessment of serious organized crime stated that identity fraud or identity theft is a sever threat in this particular domain (, Is ID fraud serious? - CIFAS Online). There are proven links between organized crime and identity fraud. Identity theft is not specific but it contributes on criminal sectors including drug trafficking, vehicle theft, illegal immigration and money laundering against both the public and the private sectors. The identity theft and the organized crime adopts a collaborative approach and do not attack specifically on the public sector or the private sector, they attack the weakest links where loop holes are vulnerable. The stolen information can be used for achieving bank loans, credit cards and vice versa. One more important point is that the illegal immigrants or the person who are overstayed, use identities of other legal immigrants or individuals who are granted citizenships to fool the home office which is devastating as the complete home office security system is compromised along with the mismanagement of records which are stored in the home office. UK has launched prevention of identity theft controlling agencies and websites on almost every domain contributing the economy. The agencies and websites are illustrated in fig 1.1 CIFAS CIFAS is a Fraud Prevention Service with 270 Members spread across banking, credit cards, asset finance, retail credit, mail order, insurance, telecommunications, factoring and share dealing. Home Office The Home Office is the government department responsible for leading the national effort to protect the public from terrorism, crime and anti-social behavior. Financial Fraud Action UK Financial Fraud Action UK co-ordinates its activity on fraud prevention, presenting a united front against financial fraud and its effects. UK Cards Association Role of the Association is both to unify and represent the UK card payments industry. Equifax Equifax provides consumers with instant online access to their credit information, as well as monitoring changes to their credit files. Experian It is helping organizations and consumers make commercial and financial decisions. Royal Mail Royal Mail delivers 80 million items daily to 27 million addresses and, for 170,000 people Callcredit Callcredit provides consumers with instant access to their credit report and a credit monitoring service. HM Revenue & Customs HMRC is responsible for collecting the bulk of tax revenue, as well as paying Tax Credits and Child Benefits, and strengthening the UKs frontiers. DVLA DVLAs primary responsibilities are to facilitate road safety by maintaining registers of drivers and vehicles, to collect vehicle excise duty and issue driving licenses. Identity & Passport Service Service to provide passport services and in the future, as part of the National Identity Scheme. Serious Organized Crime Agency Executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by, but operationally independent from, the Home Office. SOCA is an intelligence-led agency with law enforcement powers and harm reduction responsibilities. Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service City of London Police City of London Police serves the Square Mile, the financial centre of London, as well as fulfilling the role as national lead on fraud investigation. Scotish Business Crime Centre To establish a unique partnership approach between the Police, business community and Government. Financial Services Authority The FSA is an independent body that regulates the financial services industry in the UK. British Bankers Association The BBA is the leading association for the UK banking and financial services sector. BSIA The British Security Industry Association is the trade association for the professional security industry in the UK. Its members provide over 70% of UK security products and services and adhere to strict quality standards. NFA The National Fraud Authority (NFA) was established to increase protection for the UK economy from the harm caused by fraud. It works with private, public and third sector organizations to initiate, co-ordinate and communicate counter-fraud activity across the economy. Fig 1.1 showing the websites and agencies in UK 1 For minimizing the identity theft, online precautions should be made before submitting any personal information on various websites, privacy policy review is mandatory. The privacy policy will include the type of data website is maintaining and utilize it for which purpose. Paper shredder is essential before throwing any paper including personal data to the dust bin. For future developments, the home office is proposing a new measure for arresting an applicant submitting bogus or forge documents, fake passports or driving licenses. It means that the applicants submitting these forged documents are involved in identity theft or criminals related to this crime and may face two years of prison. For enhancing the privacy of online contents, IBM has launched an open standard privacy methodology language used for computerizing the enforcement of privacy policies. Bibliography Cyber crime wave is flooding the UK. 2008. Accountancy, 142(1384), pp. 43-43. , Is ID fraud serious? - CIFAS Online . Available: http://www.cifas.org.uk/default.asp?edit_id=968-56 [12/11/2010, 2010]. , Identity Theft - About Us . Available: http://www.identitytheft.org.uk/about-us.asp [12/11/2010, 2010]. , CIFAS calls for unified action to tackle identity fraud - CIFAS Online . Available: http://www.cifas.org.uk/default.asp?edit_id=1044-57 [12/12/2010, 2010]. , No Title . Available: http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/nfa/whatarewesaying/newsrelease/pages/identity-fraud-costs-27billion.aspx [12/12/2010, 2010]. Read More