McCoy in the News

Michael McCoy, co-author of The Silent Crime: What You Need to Know About Identity Theft is now in Orlando, Florida for an industry conference and for several presentation's on identity theft.  Below is a link that will give you all the details to Michael McCoy's upcoming and recent interviews on Florida radio and tv.

http://www.pplmediaroom.com

Use the Michael McCoy calendar link to keep up to date on McCoy's travel schedule. Thanks and hope to see you in a town near you. 

To request Michael McCoy to speak in your area send a email to insurancenow@hotmail.com

Thanks.

Michael McCoy

Security or Privacy, That is The Question.

I talked to a close friend this week who works for a sensitive homeland security related research institute on the East Coast. The "security guys" have put software and protection on all the computers used in this organization. The computers are now practically worthless because to get a high level of security the system slows down to turtle speed thus making it almost useless.

You have probably tried using Microsoft Vista. One (of many) reasons its such a bad operating system is that they tried to compensate for the Swiss-cheese-like security problems in previous Windows systems.

Now comes another and vitally needed effort to lock down cyber security. Here are some comments from the article from the NY Times.

Privacy May Be a Victim in Cyberdefense Plan

By THOM SHANKER and DAVID E. SANGER

June 12, 2009

WASHINGTON — A plan to create a new Pentagon cybercommand is raising significant privacy and diplomatic concerns, as the Obama administration moves ahead on efforts to protect the nation from cyberattack and to prepare for possible offensive operations against adversaries’ computer networks.

As with trying to identify terrorists through the Patriot Act, cyber security cannot be easily separated into "domestic" and "foreign" the way we have traditionally allocated legitimate areas of activity for the military and the CIA.

" ... foreign adversaries often mount their attacks through computer network hubs inside the United States, and military officials and outside experts say that threat confronts the Pentagon and the administration with difficult questions. Military officials say there may be a need to intercept and examine some e-mail messages sent from other countries to guard against computer viruses or potential terrorist action. Advocates say the process could ultimately be accepted as the digital equivalent of customs inspections, in which passengers arriving from overseas consent to have their luggage opened for security, tax and health reasons."

So we now once again face that hard choice of giving up some privacy for security or holding tight on our right not to be snooped on by the government but open ourselves to the risk and certainty of cyber-attacks against our personal identities as well as against civilian and government facilities.

The Cost of A Data Breach - www.thesilentcrime.com

In this videocast I discuss with you what the real cost to a business if they fail to secure their customers information. This is done with a videocast, please join me at: WATCH VIDEO BLOG AT ---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-JSV7WbMuE

You can find a copy of the article I discuss in my videocast by clicking on the following link -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/02/AR2009020203064.html

Thank you for joining me on the video and I will talk with you next week.

Michael McCoy

Data Breach - RBS WorldPay

In this videocast I share with you a letter I received from RBS WorldPay with a RE: title of "IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION". The letter begins by telling me how I am one of many involved in a massive data breach within RBS WorldPay.

The following is a direct quote from the letter. Remember, this is a letter I personally received.
___________________________________________________________________

RE: IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

.

Dear Michael:

.

We are writing to inform you about a situation involving your personal information. We are investigating fraudulent activity as a result of unauthorized access to our system. Information such as your name, address, telephone number, date of birth, Social Security number, and financial account information may have been inappropriately accessed by an unauthorized person.

.

Our internal security professionals and outside experts are working with law enforcement authorities to investigate the situation. We are taking steps to help ensure that this type of event does not happen again.

.

What we are doing to protect your information:

.

We are offering you a complimentary one-year membership in XXXXXXXXX, a national subscription credit monitoring service that ...

____________________________________________________________________________________

Please view my videocast to hear my take on this letter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgMzPI4SdWE

Second video of 2009

2009 Videocast Series

We wanted you all to be aware of a new video series that we at Identity Theft Prevention Institute ( www.stolendata.bogspot.com ) are going to start on a weekly basis in 2009. The series will cover current events, comparison's, interviews with industry experts, and what our subscribers are asking for.

If you are interested in a specific interview with a person, write us or email us and we will see what we can do.

12/31/2008 Video 1

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


See you in a week.