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: on the subway. But however it happens, data loss can be devastating, and it's only a matter of time before a high-profile company, perhaps a squeaky clean one bursting with integrity and good will, is brought to its knees by a breach" feels Dave DeWalt, McAfee, president and CEO, in McAfees and Datamonitor's latest research report.
In India there are currently no laws in place to protect and safeguard oneself against identity theft. Nor, do organisations that are in possession of sensitive data, have procedures for data protection, flow and securitisation they have to adhere to. The IT Act 2000 currently has no specific provision to deal with identity theft. However, the Expert Committee on Amendments to the IT Act 2000 (whose report is still being considered by the government) had recommended amending the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by inserting in it, two new sections. Section 417A that prescribes punishment of up to 3 years imprisonment and a fine for cheating, by using any unique identification feature of any other person. And, section 419A, which prescribes punishment of up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine for cheating by impersonation, using a network or computer resource. Sections 417A and 419A comprehensively cover identity theft and their incorporation into the IPC would place India amongst the few nations to have specific provisions to counter the bane of identity theft.
In many cases, victims discover the identity fraud has hit them only after their credit card or bank statements reach them. The time gap between the crimes and their discovery sometimes get too large to trace out the perpetrator. Thus, to proactively counter identity theft, consumers should be kept informed about any significant changes in their credit accounts as soon as possible. Credit bureaus like the Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd should inform consumers in case of any significant change in their credit account status.
Guarding tools
The Unisys Security Index is a social indicator that measures consumer concern in relation to four areas of security: national, financial, internet and personal safety. "Fears about identity theft and financial fraud are top global concerns for consumers" as per the latest results of the Unisys Security Index . Identity theft is the primary security concern cited among respondents in nine out of 14 countries, while misuse of credit or debit card information ranks as the first or second greatest fear in 12 out of...
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