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In recent times, we have seen increasing levels of crime and terrorism throughout the world. There have been many cases of identity theft and other similar crimes, and the need to put an end to this crucial issue has become a priority. However, there is a solution in sight –identity cards. Using good quality identity cards can help to reduce security threats and identity crimes to a great extent.

The entire world has to come together to fight this problem, which is why an increasing number of companies and organizations throughout the world have introduced ID cards. Whether used to visit government buildings, enter and exit a place of work, travel or any other purpose; these ID cards have become a very vital part of our daily lives.

In previous times, identity cards were made of paper, and the personal information it contained was handwritten. They were very easy to duplicate, and such cards could be destroyed easily. They could be torn, or if they were dropped in water, the information written on the cards could become blurred or faded.

However, with a change in time and progress in technology, identity cards have become much more sophisticated. With the help of digital printing, you can now obtain plastic cards which cannot be torn. The information is printed on it using a card printer, meaning that it is impossible to erase it. Modern identity cards are long lasting, water and damage resistant, and extremely difficult to duplicate.

According to research compiled by Lloyds TSB, 76% of adults in UK are worried about the identity theft and 39% of them feel more at risk than they felt six months before, because of the recession period.
52% of the people who are all concerned about identity theft think that recession has played an important role in increasing unemployment and that more people are indulging in criminal activities and identity theft.

A spokesperson of Lloyd TSB, Jatin Patel said that, with the advancements in the technology it becomes very easy for the criminals to steal identity during the tough economic times.
He also said that, people need to protect themselves by shredding documents and protecting passwords and they need to act smart instead of loosing identity.

It was also recommended that people are to be more aware of what they put on social networking sites, as these prove popular hunting grounds for criminals to gather personal information from.

He also stated that, 38% of people in UK have been experienced identity frauds last year and almost 18% have already been victim of identity thefts personally. He also said that, 57% of people have done enough to protect themselves but 25% of the people do not know how best to protect their data.

Identity theft is one of many crimes in the UK which is not only affecting individuals but is also affecting many businesses. Nowadays, identity theft is of greater concern than traditional crimes such as mugging, pick pocketing and burglary.

According to a study published at the beginning of National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, identity theft is increasing to the extent that more than 59,000 criminal acts have been recorded. South-East London and Birmingham are the most common areas for identity fraud to occur, where the crime rate has increased by 36% compared to last year.
About 81% of Brits are worried about becoming a victim of ID theft, according to a report by the fraud prevention service, CIFAS.

Even though the number of fraud cases is increasing, many individuals and businesses are not taking serious steps to protect themselves. 22% of people access their bank details in internet cafes or at work places and 79% of businesses make no effort to destroy sensitive material containing personal details.

Peter Hurst, the CIFAS Chief Executive, has said that fraud is a dangerous crime which not only affects businesses financially but can also have an impact on the reputation of the company. He then went on to say that fraud prevention is the duty of both the private and public sectors.

Lastly, CIFAS recommended that consumers need to be familiar with postal bill dates and check sites which begins with https:// before giving out any personal information.

In the UK, the number of identity fraud cases has increased by up to 36% in comparison to last year’s figures. With 60,000 reported cases this year; more UK citizens than ever before have become victims of identity theft, with the figures set to increase further.

Tyron Hill, spokesperson for the National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, has said that the threat is still growing and that they are hoping people will take steps to protect themselves. He also said that people are often ignoring the advice of the government and are not taking proper care of their finances and identity.

The fraudsters can clear bank accounts, ruin credit ratings and run up debts which can damage a person’s credit history. All this is possible with only a small amount of personal information, such as the person’s name and address.

James Webb, an identity fraud expert, has said that these crimes have cost a total of £1.2 billion. He urged people of the need to be vigilant, and advised them not to give their personal information to unknown people.

In spite of all the warnings, about 65% people in the UK still throw their sensitive documents in the bin without shredding them, and a further 12% visit websites without proper security software.

Anyone with sensitive information stored on their computers should ensure that access is restricted to such areas and security checks are completed regularly.

You may have read recently that one of Glasgow’s City Council workers was dismissed and another resigned before he could be fired after they were caught snooping in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information Systems (CIS) database.
The database forms one of the keystones of the government’s identity card scheme, containing over 50 million records with details of individuals National Insurance numbers, benefit history, dates of birth etc.

The Government offices who have access to this system have undertaken random and selective targeting of individuals accessing this system to verify that there is a genuine reason for them to be accessing this sort of information.

Using encrypted plastic cards known as smartcards to control access to your business’ computer systems enables you to monitor and record who accesses what and when it is accessed. With the potential financial impact that your business which could incur in the event of a security breach and you could find yourself regretting not putting such access controls in place.

Customers and employees alike are sensitive about their personal information being accessed and divulged without permission. If they feel a business cannot be trusted with their information, customers will do business elsewhere so they can be sure that their information is protected.

The recent revelations discovered under the Freedom of Information Act reported by the Guardian goes a long way to show that just about every business is at risk of losing secure information. 

The disclosure of a theft in which information from RAF Innsworth, Gloucestershire relating to senior RAF staff which contained details of alleged drug abuse, extra-marital affairs and use of prostitutes contained on computer disc drives were stolen. 

The memo is reported to also contain vetting information including details of criminal convictions, investigations, precise details of debt, medical conditions, drug abuse, use of prostitutes, extra-marital affairs including the names of third parties which could prove extremely dangerous for men serving in the armed forces.   

Putting such losses into perspective for other businesses, particularly those with itinerant workers, it is likely that laptops containing details of orders, suppliers and performance which are used in presentations could be worked on whilst off-site in non-secure areas or on public transport.

Businesses that have not already done so would do well to consider controlling access to these laptops and indeed, controlling access to all of their IT networked computer systems via smartcards.

These smartcards are basically a credit card sized plastic cards issued to each individual employee which allows your IT team administrators to monitor and report all authorised and unauthorised access by any person and of course, enable them to immediately cancel the access to any laptop or computer if it is inadvertently lost or a person is dismissed.

A six month trial in a branch of Albert Heijn in Breukelen, near Amsterdam whereby shoppers were able to pay for their purchases by fingerprint is not going to be taken forward.

More than 50% of supermarket transactions are made by debit/credit card in the Netherlands and the trial actually proved popular with the 580 participants who were able to pay for their purchases using their fingerprint rather than swiping their cards.

This was the first trial of its kind in the Netherlands and even though the consensus of those taking part in the trial was that they much preferred to make their purchases using their fingerprint rather than credit, debit or loyalty cards, it has been decided not to progress the initiative further.

Reasons quoted for not continuing with the scheme included issues surrounding security and the increased possibility of fraud. In fact, during the trial, one security expert managed to make purchases using another person’s fingerprint.

Whilst there is nothing to suggest that the introduction of such schemes in the UK would highlight similar weaknesses, such trials do alert people to the fact that fraud is still possible even when fingerprints are used.

It doesn’t even need to be used in connection with for paying for goods/services. The introduction of fingerprint scanning to access to business premises, particularly those requiring heightened security is increasing in popularity.

Even before it has managed to provide sufficient assurance and proof to UK residents that the ID card Scheme and the associated National Identity register will be secure, the Government has admitted it wants to store patient’s DNA samples on a new NHS computer system.

Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo has publicly stated it is her “long-term objective” to record genetic profiles on a new database, “Connecting for Health”.

The register is due to go live in 2012 with medical records stored online, but given that the minister is already outlining her ambitions for the database it is already generating opposition - as many fear it could breach patient confidentiality.

The main concern of course is who will be granted access to view the information recorded on the database, and for what reason.

Could we soon find out our medical and genetic information is being searched by companies looking to identify potential patients to try new treatments on? Or will fraudsters be looking to create fake identities?

Could the Government be working towards a further income generator such as provided by the DVLA in selling car registrations at auction?

The Department of Health have said that they have no intention of taking decisions on providing such access to genetic information without proper debate. It would be nice if they asked the people what they would like.

As is the case with many companies that maintain large databases of information, such systems are often subjected to illegal access by hackers. It was recently reported, hackers managed to access the confidential information of some 4.5 million people registered with Monster.co.uk.

Despite the fact sensitive data such as national insurance numbers or personal financial information was not accessed, the hackers did manage to obtain personal details including: user names, passwords, telephone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth and ethnicity.

Monster.co.uk has taken remedial action and posted a message on the web site advising all customers to change their passwords immediately.

Such incidences will hinder any business endeavoring to convert their records to a computerised system and gathering information from their customers over the net.

Staff will be very reluctant to offer such information to be stored on employer systems without receiving strong assurances that overall security, access using ID cards and system control mechanisms are robust and secure.

Given the information the hackers have managed to obtain, it is very possible they will attempt to fake bank accounts or open loans in the names of customers.

On a good note, it is pleasing to see the openness of Monster in publishing the breach in security, albeit rather discreetly. It is still disappointing to see that while they published the official alert on their website (23 January), it was not reported anywhere else in the media for several days. This could possibly infer the company made a conscious containment decision not to do so.

Alternatively, it may have been a failing in their breach of security investigation and recovery continuity plan. Whatever did happen, it is unlikely we will ever get to know the full story – for security reasons of course.