Pretexting hearing turns to wireless execs

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SSN distribution already illegal

Somehow those enabling the identity theft had to get social security numbers, the provision of which by HP and everyone else is already illegal. The investigators would have us believe that they obtained SSNs from the trash of those whose identities were stolen. Thats hard to fathom given the effort by the US government in advertising the importance of keeping that stuff out of the trash.

To track the trail of who leaked what to who and the distribution of that leaked information to the press would have virtually required the SSNs of the entire employed base of HP as well as the recently unemployed by HP and vendors to HP.

Indeed this affair already has identified Carley as a former employee and Dunn herself admits she was pretexted (did she know that from the start or just recently?). The distruction of a computer by one of the investigative firms suggest an entire database of Social Security Numbers was at hand.

What can a phone company do? The only information that if provided fraudulantly puts the perpetrator in jail is the SSN. If HP provided SSNs it provided other information as well. I think the wireless companies involved should be suing HP for not protecting this data.

This case is not unlike the Veteran's Administration. In that case a laptop with SSNs went missing. Several were drummed out of the Federal Government even before there was evidence of identity theft and in spite of the laptop being recovered owing to a reward offer. In anycase the Federal Government was viewed as ultimately liable. Should not this standard be applied to HP?

Perhaps the SSNs were not in a database stored on a laptop but instead were trasmitted to an outsourced payroll or personnel operation. If not encriped the numbers and other data could be picked up with a simple wire tap at the transmission time. Even if encripted the outsourced operation could have been influenced to provide the data.

Frank L. Mighetto CCP

Posted by: mighetto   Posted on: 10/02/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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