President Bush's Identity Theft Task Force issued their suggestions. Their report calls for a review at the state and federal level of the use of Social Security numbers in consumer records. The panel also broadly supported national standards for requiring organizations to notify consumers if they experience a data breach or loss that jeopardizes personal or financial data.
Thirty-five states already have passed data breach disclosure laws. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are drafting and circulating similar measures to do the same on a Federal level.
Some critics of the panel's report include Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "It really seems like the focus of these recommendations is what to do about the crime of identity theft after it occurs, rather than creating a comprehensive approach that would minimize the risk of the crime itself," said Rotenberg. "We really have to go after those practicing bad data practices with the same energy we're willing to use against those who commit identity theft."
