Contrary to many commonly held beliefs identity theft is not a modern crime. It has existed for centuries and its growth does not correlate to development of modern technologies and the Internet.

While conducting academic research of identity theft in the United States, the author discovered that in spite of the popularity of the topic, the crime remains poorly understood. Consequently, many strategies for prevention, detection, and recovery fail to properly address the problem.

The aim of this presentation is to help security professionals to better understand identity theft, and to differentiate it from other related crimes. The presentation begins by describing the history of identity theft and explains how the process takes place. It introduces the notion of identity theft enablers, and identifies those that make the United States the most seriously affected country by this crime. We will see how legislation deals with the problem and how official statistics fail to properly account for the magnitude of the crime. Finally, we will learn about the real costs and recovery of the crime; both tangible and intangible.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Location

Radio Free Asia

2025 M St. NW Washington DC

First Floor Conference Room

Presenter: Branko S. Bokan, CISSP - IT Officer ? U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Technical Assistance

Branko S. Bokan, CISSP holds a masters degree in Information Security from Royal Holloway, University of London. Branko has many years of experience in government sectors all over the world. Currently, he works as an IT Officer for Treasury Department?s Office of Technical Assistance. Branko?s security thinking is heavily influenced by Bruce Schneier. His most recent research was in the area of identity theft in the United States.