The Equifax data breach which surfaced last month, has everyone on edge , but it is just one of 1080 data breaches in 2017 which exposed the records of 171,114,261 Americans, according to data from the Identity Theft Resource Center.
The ITRC defined a data breach as an event which puts a name and social security number, driver's license number, medical record or financial records at risk after an electronic or paper exposure. The data also includes breaches that include user names, emails and passwords even if sensitive personal information is not involved.
How vulnerable anyone may be to any of these event could depend on where they live. Georgia is one of the states in which residents are most vulnerable to identity theft.
Georgia is among the top five states with the most fraud complaints per capita, according to the survey which evaluated each state on measures such as identity thefts and fraud per capita and the average of losses from each, as well as policies in each state designed to protect consumers.
It's worth noting that because authorities have determined that Georgia is one of the states with a high potential for tax-related fraud, residents are eligible for an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS. The pin is a six-digit code that you must file with your tax return in order for it to be accepted. It can prevent thieves from filing fraudulent returns, but the process isn't currently reversible. Once you sign up for a pin number, you are required to use it on all tax-related information.
Most expert agree that the burden of protecting personal information should not rest only on individuals. Companies must assume part of the responsibility by adequately securing the information they gather or opting to not gather any personal information that isn't absolutely necessary.
They also advocate for abandoning the practice of using Social Security Numbers as an identifier. Other options such as biometric data or unique identifiers, should be used instead.
"SSNs were never intended, and therefore aren't designed securely to serve as a universal ID number," said Brian Ray, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. "There are technologies currently available including biometric data, blockchain applications and other that are specifically designed to securely confirm individual identity."
