Report: Government is Leading Culprit in Leaking Confidential Personal Information

The government, at all levels, remains public enemy No. 1 when it comes to data security, despite efforts to collect (in the name of national security) ever more data on people and to implement information-intensive "security" measures, such as national standards for driver's licenses.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, for the second year in a row, government offices (including the military) top the list of organizations responsible for incidents of theft or accidental release of people's confidential personal information.

This information, often including names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and account numbers, can be used by criminals and thugs to steal money and create fraudulent identities. In fact, with so much useful information ripe for the picking, some terrorist groups have even been known to finance operations through stolen credit card numbers.

According to the ITAC, the first organization to track data breaches, some 29 percent of breaches during 2006 involved government and military agencies and offices. This number was virtually unchanged from the previous year, despite increased awareness and federal and state-by-state legislative efforts to provide more protections for consumers, such as mandatory breach notifications and enhanced fraud alerts that can be appended to people's credit reports.

Lest you think this is a uniquely American problem, have pity on the poor British who are experiencing their worst government mishandling of confidential information ever, affecting 25 million people. Most alarmingly, hundreds of government protected witnesses whose real and assumed names were included on the unaccounted for unencrypted disks may be in serious risk should the information fall into criminal hands.

On this side of the pond, last year the Veteran's Administration was responsible for one of the largest U.S. government information security failures when a consultant's laptop containing confidential data on 26.5 million veterans was stolen from his home. The laptop was later recovered, but not before the VA was forced to prostrate itself in front of Congress for its lax security and its inspector general was compelled to admit that the breach was only discovered through "office gossip."

Unlike choosing to provide information on a credit card application or online shopping site, providing personal information to the government is, in many cases, not optional. So, what can you do to protect yourself?

Luckily, companies were light years ahead of the government on personal identity protection. But their products, which generally allow one to monitor their credit reports and receive automatic alerts for signs of fraud, well...cost money. Some organizations that had information lost or stolen are providing these products to affected people for free.

There are a few no-cost, do-it-yourself options to help protect your personal information and identify potential fraud. As with many of life's other risks, you are still your own best protection.

Free Annual Credit Reports. A few years ago, the federal government told the three major credit reporting agencies to create a central website to enable people to order one free copy of their credit reports every year. Reviewing the information included in your credit reports can tip you off if someone is already using your information to open credit or phone accounts in your name.

Fraud Alerts. If you know your information has been stolen, contact one of the big three credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax or TransUnion - to place a 90-day fraud alert on your credit report. The company you contact is required to contact the other two to make sure they get the information. A fraud alert is supposed to slow down the credit approval process to allow the creditor more time to make sure you are who you say you are. Unfortunately, compliance with these alerts is voluntary and many creditors seem to disregard them.

Online Banking. Most financial institutions now provide free online banking services which include automatic account alerts. Regularly checking your accounts online and setting up automatic alerts to notify you when large purchases or withdrawals are made can help you detect suspicious activity weeks before you get your statements and, if you're especially diligent, before the charge has even been approved.