News Media Chronicles Identity Theft Expert’s Disagreement with Policymakers on National ID

(BOSTON, Mass. - April 16, 2008 - IDTheftSecurity.com) Even as news that data breaches from just the first quarter of 2008 compromised the security of more than 8 million unique data, policymakers in Washington, D.C. continued to resist efforts to implement the REAL ID Act, which aims to synchronize major forms of identification with a national ID. Politicians of any ideological stripe who oppose the legislation are doing a disservice to efforts that aim to curb the rate of fraud, said widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert Robert Siciliano.

CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com and a member of the Bank Fraud & IT Security Report's editorial board, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for security issues. An experienced identity theft speaker and author of "The Safety Minute: 01," he has discussed data security and consumer protection on CNBC, on NBC's "Today Show," on FOX News, and elsewhere.

"Policymakers who resist efforts to synchronize the nation’s methods of identification through a national ID help neither those who want privacy nor those who want greater security," said Siciliano. "They instead pander, wittingly or not, to voters who fail to understand that privacy is an illusion.”

Security breaches in the first quarter of 2008 compromised about 8.3 million unique data records, an April 9th news release from the Identity Theft Resource Center stated:

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/m_press/Breach_List_2008_Q1_printer.shtml

Dating back three years, Siciliano's views on a revamped national identification system, which he has said would greatly hamper identity thieves' ability to capitalize on the preponderance of data breaches, have appeared in print in response to opposing viewpoints from policymakers.

In May of 2005, a write-up of Siciliano's appeared alongside one from 2008 U.S. Presidential Candidate and Republican Senator Ron Paul in the Costco Connection. Sicliano argued that "[o]ur current IDs are dumb," consisting of only "pieces of paper with typed words and photos laminated in plastic." For his own part, Senator Paul countered that "[a] national ID card…will allow the federal government to inappropriately the movements and transactions of every American." But Siciliano noted that "[e]verything we do from the time we are born is [already] documented.… Now we must manage our circumstances."

On March 27, the Counterterrorism Blog identified other policymakers who have opposed the REAL ID Act, such as Democrat Senator Richard Durbin and Republican Senator Lamar Alexander. And comments from Siciliano on a national ID again appeared with Senator Paul's, this time in a story that saw widespread coverage earlier this month:

http://www.my58.com/news/15775212/detail.html

“That privacy no longer exists is lamentable,” Siciliano continued. “But without privacy, we need security more than ever. When politicians soapbox about privacy, they mischaracterize the security challenges facing this country, and citizens then clamor for solutions that don’t exist. Citizens who say that they want privacy in response to mischaracterizations of the problems the nation's identification system faces must hear the truth: Privacy is no longer possible, but they in fact have a right, in privacy’s wake, to security—the right to know that their data is secure when in the hands of others."

YouTube video shows Siciliano on "FOX Newschannel,” where he explains how the ubiquity of Social Security numbers as universal identifiers helps thieves online and off-line:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqoHSACQ34U

Those wishing to learn how to protect themselves against identity theft may view video of Siciliano at VideoJug:

http://www.videojug.com/search?keywords=siciliano

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The media are encouraged to get in touch with Siciliano directly:

Robert Siciliano
Personal Security Expert
CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com
PHONE: 888-SICILIANO (742-4542)
FAX: 877-2-FAX-NOW (232-9669)
Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com
www.idtheftsecurity.com

About IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity theft affects us all. Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com and member of the Bank Fraud & IT Security Report's editorial board, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients.

A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on "The Today Show," CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, "FOX News," "The Suze Orman Show," "The Montel Williams Show," "Maury Povich," "Sally Jesse Raphael," "The Howard Stern Show," and "Inside Edition." The Privacy Learning Institute features him on its Website. Numerous magazines, print news outlets, and wire services have turned to him, as well, for expert commentary on personal security and identity theft. These include Forbes, USA Today, Entrepreneur, Woman's Day, Good Housekeeping, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, United Press International, Reuters, and others.

Visit Siciliano's Web site, http://www.IDTheftSecurity.com; blog, http://www.realtysecurity.com/blog; and YouTube page, http://www.youtube.com/stungundotcom.

This release was published on openPR.