Privacy

Recent disclosures of massive data leaks at information brokers, banks and retailers have prompted Congress to once again consider tightening access to Social Security numbers, which have evolved into dangerous master keys for fraudsters.
But Social Security numbers already have come under a hodgepodge of restrictions over the years, and many experts question whether the new proposals would truly hinder identity theft. In fact, reducing some companies' access to Social Security numbers could even worsen the situation.

Phil Zimmermann hopes that his secure Net phone-calling efforts will be as successful as his Pretty Good Privacy e-mail encryption program.

Zimmermann has developed a prototype of an Internet telephony application that encrypts calls to prevent eavesdropping. He plans to unveil the prototype on Thursday at the Black Hat Briefings security industry conference in Las Vegas.

Instead of trying to crash corporate, government and university computers, hackers are focusing on stealing personal information such as your Social Security or credit card numbers from them, a new survey says.

Figures from the Computer Security Institute, an organization of information-security professionals, and the FBI show that more computer systems are better prepared to identify and fend off computer attacks. Yet the report also concludes that profit-minded hackers are targeting enterprises with large customer and employee databases.