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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

The root causes of identity theft

Dennis Bailey in the Open Society Paradox raises a very interesting question about the root causes of identity theft. In his view, it is not the fault of the organization that leaks personal information to identity thieves. Rather, he says, it is the credit grantors who provide credit facilities to the impostors.

The Open Society Paradox: Tonight's Reflection on ChoicePoint:
"ChoicePoint is being crucified for not having done due diligence to verify the identity of the individuals who stole data. Why aren't financial institutions being held to the same standard when it is their giving of accounts to identity thieves which is at the core of the problem. Don't they also have a responsibility to verify the identity of their customers? Fix that part of the equation with improved identification and biometrics and ChoicePoint's data becomes a non-issue. Can't anyone see the waterfall for the river that Congress is heading down? If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, you can't lock down data in the information age. You can only prevent its misuse."

It does take two to tango ...

Labels: choicepoint, identity theft, information breaches