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An artificial intelligence program in development at Carnegie-Mellon University will search the Web for personally identifiable information, and alert potential victims that such data is in the wild online.
Dr. Latanya Sweeney, an Associate Professor of Computer Science, Technology and Policy at CMU, has an ambitious project in the works. Called Identity Angel, the project will develop a program that tracks down the assorted bits of information a thief can use to steal someone's identity.
Her abstract on the Identity Angel project cites identity theft as a threat to national security and economic prosperity. If enough information about a person can be found online, a thief can fit those pieces together and impersonate the real person.
Work on the project has been proceeding for a couple of years. Identity theft has been an issue of increasing importance, and many firms have been making efforts at preventing people from putting information in the wrong hands. That approach does not address the data that may be online already, though.
Sweeney cited name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number as the critical bits one needs to impersonate someone else. As an example, Sweeney showed how a typical credit card application online asks for these details, and if known the application can be submitted, and possibly approved.
Much of the important data can be found in résumés job seekers have posted online. In a sample of what Identity Angel finds online, Sweeney showed excerpts from three résumés found through "filtered searching"; those extracts contained all four pieces of information. Sweeney truncated the Social Security numbers shown in the report.
Identity Angel then emailed the people whose details were discovered online. Out of 105 people contacted, 71 of them no longer had those details available online a year after being notified.
This and other proactive approaches will be needed as identity theft increases in sophistication. The best defense for people will be to refrain from making those personal details available online in the first place; dates of birth and Social Security numbers do not need to be posted on the Internet where they can be easily found.
About
the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer with WebProNews.
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