PODCAST: William Henley, Senior Vice President, BITS, Discusses Key Cyber Legislation
BITS, the leading financial service industry consortium made up of 100 of the largest financial institutions in the U.S., recently hired William Henley as its Senior President of Regulation.
Previously, William spent more than 20 years in federal government service, most recently as the Director of IT Examinations for the Office of Thrift Supervision. At OTS, William was the agency’s principal advisor regarding the development, implementation and maintenance of policies, procedures and guidelines pertaining to the examination and supervision of saving associations in the area of Information Technology (IT) and Technology Risk Management, including electronic banking activities; and was the OTS representative to the FFIEC IT Subcommittee, serving as Chair from April 2009 to June 2010.
We were fortunate enough to spend some time with William where he shares his insights with regards to key upcoming cybersecurity legislation. <
Do You Really Need Identity Theft Protection?
The fact is, you can’t protect yourself from all forms of identity theft, and the types that you can guard against require a Rain Man-like focus. One way or another, it’s going to cost you time or money or both.
Identity theft protection detractors say, “Why pay a monthly fee when all you have to do is…”
Securely dispose of mail. The standard advice is to thoroughly shred preapproved credit card offers and anything that includes any account information. While this is good advice and should be heeded, it’s not going to protect you when your bank or mortgage company or utility provider tosses your information in a dumpster that is subsequently raided by identity thieves.
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Child Identity Theft is a Growing Concern
More and more young children our becoming victims of identity theft at an alarming rate. Often times they are completely unaware of the theft until many years later. They do not find out until they attempt to get a college loan, credit card, or purchase a car and are denied.
Hundreds of online businesses are finding inactive Social Security numbers online, mostly assigned to children 18 and younger who have not even started using them. These Social Security numbers are being sold under different names to help people establish fake credit. The scheme may lead to significant debts and poor credit ratings.
Unfortunately child identity theft is often not discovered for many years after it has occurred. You
Stalkers Exploiting Mobile Phones
Mobile phone GPS (global positioning system) is often accurate in less than 100 feet. Many mobile apps work with GPS to inform you of local restaurants, banks, gas stations and attractions. Mobile phone GPS is also being used for driving navigation too, but I don’t find it as effective.
In this amazing age of progressive technology the uses seem unlimited. The good guy often finds out what he can do to improve his life with technology and the bad guy uses it to ruin others.
A U.S. Justice Department report last year estimated that more than 25,000 adults in the U.S. are victims of GPS stalking annually, including by cell phone.
The Wall Street Journal reports “The Federal Communications Commission required U.S. cel
Worst Person: Criminal Targeted Kids With Cancer In Identity Theft Scheme
As our faithful reader know, we both a “Best Person” and “Worst Person” post each week on the ITAC blog. Well sometimes things happen where we shuffle the editorial calendar a bit, and this is exactly what we are doing this week by running two “Worst Person” posts. Why? We came across candidate for the “Worst Person” post that could not be ignored.
Steven Nelson, a 29-year-old former tax preparer from the Bronx, was charged with using Social Security numbers and other information stolen from New York City hospitals, doctors’ offices and pediatric cancer centers to submit more than 100 false returns. Authorities say h