Well, we came across a story about the 23 year old in Sheboygan, Mich. being charged for identity theft for using dad’s credit card to buy pizza and to pay for online video chats. At first we thought…really?? In today’s world where adolescence extends into the lats 20s, we thought…what 23 year has not used dad’s credit card to buy pizza? Of course, we would have asked for dad’s permission first – but that is neither here nor there.

So, as we dug into this story a bit more. It turns out that…and get this…the son is a petty criminal. He was was charged in July with two counts of retail theft and of bail jumping. So, we get it. Mom and dad had to press charges on their dear son, who if convicted, we could face more than two years of jail time.

Next time, don’t steal from dad.

According to Computerworld, among those expected at the meeting are Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce and several industry representatives, including some from electric utility companies and the vendor community. President Obama is expected to “briefly” attend the meeting.

Well, it seems that the timing is right for such a meeting. They should have had this meeting several months ago? Why? The GAO recently slammed the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for failing to live up to its responsibility to coordinate a national cybersecurity R&D agenda. As a result (according to the GAO Report), the U.S risks falling behind other countries on cybersecurity matters, and being unable to adequately protect its interests in cyberspace.

Anthem Blue Cross Cops to Massive Data Breach
A sloppy website upgrade is being blamed this week for a data breach that left the most sensitive personal information of more than 230,000 Anthem Blue Cross members exposed for more than five months. Anthem officials said its corporate website had been revamped in October by a third-party vendor that, according to the health insurer, failed to secure sections of the site to ensure visitors couldn’t access members’ medical records and Social Security numbers. “We were told by a third-party vendor that all security measures were in place,” Cynthia Sanders, an Anthem spokeswoman, said in a statement. As it turns out, visitors were able to access the personal information of the more than 230,000 people who had pending insurance applications in the Anthem system. Read the full eSecurity Planet article here.

700-Plus Credit Cards Stolen from Hotel
Computer hackers targeting travelers at luxury hotels across the country made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars during the past three months by breaking into the computer system of a national hotel chain and stealing the guests’ credit card information, Texas police officials told ABC News today. Destination Hotels & Resorts had its computer system hacked and the credit card data of more than 700 guests across the country was stolen, according to Austin, Texas, police. The Englewood, Colo., company manages more than 30 upscale hotels, resorts and conference centers in places such as Washington, D.C., Denver , San Diego, Santa Fe, Aspen, Colo., Los Angeles , Palm Springs, Calif., Houston and Lake Tahoe. Read the full ABC News story here.

FTC Says Current Privacy Laws Aren’t Working
A U.S. Federal Trade Commission representative delivered a stern indictment of current privacy laws last week, saying they fail to protect American consumers and instead place too much of a “burden” on them. The existing constellation of privacy laws, which relies heavily on disclosure of data collection and use practices and on informed consumer choice, “in some very basic sense isn’t working,” said Kathryn Ratte, a senior attorney in the FTC’s consumer protection bureau. “We’ve put too much burden on the consumers to understand these policies,” Ratte said here at an event organized by Canada’s privacy commissioner. “To compare the privacy policies of two companies is an almost impossible task.” Read the full CNET article here.

Twitter Settles F.T.C. Privacy Case
Twitter has settled a Federal Trade Commission investigation into the security and privacy protections it offers users, Brad Stone reports in The New York Times. For the last 11 months, the F.T.C. has been looking into two security breaches at Twitter in 2009 in which a hacker got access to the accounts of several prominent members, including Barack Obama, then the president-elect, and was able to read their private Twitter messages and send out fake messages from their accounts. The F.T.C.’s punishment was not severe. Twitter, based in San Francisco, agreed to set up a security program that will be audited by an outside company, and, according to the F.T.C.’s news release on the case, “will be barred for 20 years from misleading consumers about the extent to which it maintains and protects the security, privacy and confidentiality of nonpublic consumer information.” Read the full NY Times post here.

Puerto Ricans Targeted in Massive ID Theft Schemes
Born in a U.S. territory where he has lived all his life, Jose Marrero Rivera didn’t know his name and social security number were racking up thousands of dollars in unpaid charges in Chicago and Miami. The snack bar worker is one of thousands of Puerto Ricans caught up in a lucrative document-fraud scheme to hide illegal immigrants in the United States. They’re American citizens with Hispanic surnames. And their records — kept loosely in schools or church rectories, where they are easy to steal — draw as much as $6,000 on the black market. Only when police showed up at Marrero’s San Juan airport food stand to arrest him for car theft did he realize that identity thieves were upending his life. Read the full AP story here.

Often when we picture identity thieves we picture sneaky strangers going through our mail or trash. Sometimes we visualize lone hackers sitting a basement or even a savvy and professional identity theft ring. We may even remember the account numbers stolen by fast food associates.

But how many of us picture someone in our own family? How many of us would picture our own Dad or Grandfather? Family identity theft is more common than most people know. As in other crimes like murder or kidnapping, chances are that a family member may very well be a suspect. Read more from Knol here.

And, of course, understanding human nature is a very difficult thing. Poets, artists, philosophers and psychologists have all tried to shed a light on our human condition. But alas, some things are just out of our realm of comprehension. Perhaps family on family identity theft crimes falls into this category — because honestly, the editorial team at the ITAC blog is completely stumped. Welcome all thoughts, comments and feedback.

If you guessed Beth Givens, Founder and Director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, then you are correct. Ms. Givens created the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in 1992 with the mission of raising consumers’ awareness of how technology affects personal privacy, empowering consumers to take action to control their own personal information, responding to specific privacy-related complaints from consumers, and taking consumer complaints to the Hill.

It seems that everyday our privacy is being invaded by the Facebooks of the world and now Google StreetView. Ms. Givens plays a critical role in making sure that privacy is paramount for U.S. citizens. Many people don’t realize just how easily our right to privacy can be chipped away by larger corporate and government interests. Ms. Givens knows this very well and fights to make sure that we control our destinies when it comes to privacy.

So, Ms. Beth Givens, congratulations. You are the “Best Person of the Week.”

For our very first “Best Person” post, we would like to pay homage to Oneida County Sheriff Jeff Hoffman who oversaw the recent arrest of three people forging checks that were passed using the names of U.S. Armed Forces members from Wisconsin who were killed in the line of duty in Iraq. Yes, that is correct. These criminals were forging checks in the name of those who died in the line of duty — never surprises us how low some criminals can go.

Kudos to Sheriff Hoffman and his team at the Oneida County Police Department! Your hard work and efforts are duly noted and we thank you for bringing this trio of criminals down. Our great nation thanks you as well.

Quit Facebook Day was a Success Even as it Flopped
Quit Facebook Day may have flopped when it comes to creating a mass exodus of Facebook users, but those who care about privacy owe a debt of gratitude to the failed movement. If you’re still using Facebook after pledging to quit, you’re in good company. According to the organizers of Quit Facebook Day, only 31,000 angry Facebook users, out of an estimated 450 million, actually followed through with their pledge to delete their account on Monday (Quit Facebook Day). The day of protest was designed to send Facebook a message that its users were fed-up with surprise privacy changes. Read the full PC World article here.

Facebook Launches Privacy Page
Facebook, which is battling intense criticism over its handling of user privacy, has launched a page that provides updates on content, products and news stories related to online privacy. The new “Facebook and Privacy Page” is the site’s latest attempt to provide easier access to information on how users can restrict access to personal information. Facebook introduced the new page Thursday, one day after chief executive Mark Zuckerberg defended the site’s handling of privacy in an onstage interview at the D8 tech conference. Read the full InformationWeek article here.

Is Your Privacy Secure Online? There’s No Way to Tell
Long before Facebook got blamed for turning the concept of online privacy into a sick joke, I could tell that the Internet was going to make the control of one’s personal information a challenge. That moment arrived in the late 1990s, when I realized that my listed phone number, previously accessible only to those who knew enough about me to know where I lived and therefore which local phone book to check or which 411 operator to call, had become available to anyone capable of typing my name — and that’s all — into an online database. Read more of Michael Hiltzik’s LA Times column here.

U.S. Backs Talks on Cyber Warfare
The chief of the Pentagon’s new cyber-security command on Thursday endorsed talks with Russia over a proposal to limit military attacks in cyberspace, representing a significant shift in U.S. policy. The U.S. has for years objected to Russian proposals to establish a kind of arms-control treaty for cyber weapons, arguing that international cooperation should first focus on reducing cyber crime. Russia has been working to marshal support for a United Nations treaty to limit the use of cyber weapons, such as software code that could destroy an enemy’s computer systems. “What Russia’s put forward is, perhaps, the starting point for international debate,” Gen. Keith Alexander said Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. “It’s something that we should, and probably will, carefully consider.” Read the full Wall Street Journal article here.

Should Cybersecurity Reforms be Reformed?
Major cybersecurity reforms were included as part of the House Defense authorization bill passed last week. The provisions call for a permanent cyber office in the White House and a major overhaul of the 2002 Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). Jim Lewis is Director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He was also the program manager of the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency. He joins us with his take on the proposed reforms. Listen to the exclusive FedNewsRadio interview here.

Data Breach Puts Kidney Dialysis Patient Info at Risk
For those of us who tend to think that data breaches happen far away and to everyone else comes this reminder from the public radio station right here in IT Business Edge’s hometown of Louisville, Ky. WFPL News reports the University of Louisville has alerted roughly 700 patients in the university’s kidney dialysis program that personal information, including their names and Social Security numbers, was briefly accessible outside of the program. University spokesman Mark Hebert explained the information was not password protected and was leaked to “the public domain on the Internet.” The dialysis program’s website has since been shut down, and the university has offered to pay for a year of credit monitoring for the affected patients, the story says. Read the full IT Business Edge story here.

Don’t Be Surprised If More Businesses Start Asking You For Identification
Be prepared to pull out your driver’s license on your next visit to the dentist. And don’t be surprised if a retailer asks for a birth date or mother’s maiden name if it’s giving you credit for your big-ticket purchase. They’re just following federal rules to protect consumers from identity theft. Beginning next month, a wide range of businesses — auto dealers, cell phone companies, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, utilities and health care providers — must start complying with “Red Flag Rules.” The rules are meant to stop fraud before it happens by requiring certain businesses to look for signs that customers might be imposters and, if there are signs that they are, to take action. Read the full Baltimore Sun article here.

VA Reports New Data Breaches
The Veterans Affairs Department has notified lawmakers of two recent data breach incidents, according to a House committee aide. One breach was a contractor’s laptop that was stolen on April 22 and contained unencrypted personal information on 616 veterans. The second breach occurred this month and involved “thousands” of veterans’ personal information at a VA facility, according to the congressional source familiar with the breach, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Both incidents occurred in Texas. VA chief information officer Roger Baker, however, said in a May 14 interview he was aware of only one breach involving the 616 veterans. He said Congress has not provided the VA with any information on a second incident. Read more from the Federal Times here.

New Mexico Medicaid Security Breach Puts Members’ Data at Risk
The New Mexico Human Services Department is informing about 9,600 members of its Medicaid fee-for-service and Medicaid Salud health plans that their personal information, including Social Security numbers, might have been compromised because of a computer data breach, Modern Healthcare reports. According to a news release, the department was notified of the breach on April 9 by DentaQuest, a dental health plan that provides benefits to New Mexico’s Medicaid beneficiaries. Read the full iHealthBeat article here.

Pentagon Works to Define Rules of Cyber Warfare
The U.S. military may never have a direct answer on when to fire back against a computer-based attack, a top Pentagon leader said Wednesday, reflecting the complex world of cyber warfare. James Miller, the principal deputy undersecretary of defense, said the Pentagon has been working through a range of scenarios, in an effort to come up with rules of war that will work in an attack that can be launched from continents away in milliseconds, and routed through innocent civilians’ computers by unknown assailants. “I do not think we’re going to have a single answer,” Miller said during a speech at Ogilvy Public Relations. He said officials may just have to use their judgment because there are “a lot of gray areas in this field.” Read the full AP story here.

White House Asks Public for Game Changing Cybersecurity Ideas
The Obama administration will open next week a web-based forum to discuss a cybersecurity research and development agenda, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Thursday. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development asked the public to submit comments for a “game change” initiative to boost the safety and security of the Internet, telecommunications and computer systems, according to the notice. The administration wants to focus on three areas: to build targeted areas within cyberspace to meet a range of security needs; to increase the cost of a cyberattack to the attacker and enable systems to operate in spite of threats; and to develop appropriate metrics and economic policies to encourage good security practices. Check out the full NextGov article here.

Cybersecurity Gets New Attention from the Hill
It was a year ago this month — May 29 to be exact — that President Barack Obama welcomed a standing-room only crowd to the East Room of the White House to announce his administration’s commitment to a comprehensive new approach to cybersecurity. Declaring that the status quo “no longer is acceptable,” Obama placed a cybersecurity stake in the ground by announcing a number of initiatives, perhaps the most visible of which was creating a new cybersecurity coordinator position to direct national cybersecurity policy from the White House. The new policy and the ceremony itself were greeted by many as an important victory — a sign that a serious and escalating concern had at last won the attention of the nation’s president. Read the full GSN article here.