In Depth

Lessons of ChoicePoint, 4 Years Later

Four years after the ChoicePoint fiasco brought data insecurity to the forefront, we still have much to learn.

By Bill Brenner, Senior Editor

Northcutt sees at least one positive result from the ChoicePoint incident and subsequent breaches: "It definitely made us rethink our role as information security practitioners."

That alone is an improvement, he says.

Texas-based IT security practitioner Todd Towles agrees, saying there's no doubt the business world is, as Ronald Reagan might say, better off than it was four years ago.

ChoicePoint shone much-needed light on the then rather unknown area of digital identity theft and fraud, Towles says. It made governments, major corporations and security-minded individuals stand up, take notice and take much needed action.

"At the time of the incident, very few states had data loss notification legislation and now, just five years later, 42 states have some type of legislation on the books," he says. "This is huge."

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