Personal info about 310,000 at risk???

Personal info about 310,000 at risk
LexisNexis cites database breach
By Jon SwartzUSA TODAY

In one of the biggest computer-security breaches ever, personal data on 310,000 people may have been stolen from data broker LexisNexis — nearly 10 times the number first disclosed, the company said Tuesday.
The disclosure of the latest electronic break-in underscores the vulnerability of computerized personal data records. In incidents reported publicly since February, the rough tally is now approaching 1 million records potentially comprised at data broker ChoicePoint, San Jose Medical Group, Boston College and elsewhere.
A probe by LexisNexis' London-based publishing parent, Reed Elsevier Group, determined that databases containing Social Security numbers and addresses had been fraudulently breached 59 times using stolen passwords.
LexisNexis initially said last month that 32,000 individuals potentially had been affected. It says it has found no cases of identity theft, such as using a stolen Social Security number to apply for a credit card.
Still, the episodes have heightened concerns about identity theft, which costs U.S. consumers and businesses $50 billion annually, according to government estimates.
Fears of identity theft are running high among consumers; 59% say they are very concerned, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll, taken in late February after ChoicePoint disclosed that thieves had gained access to some 145,000 consumer profiles. ChoicePoint, like others, was forced to make the disclosure under a California law.
Separately that month, Bank of America admitted it lost data tapes containing sensitive details of 1.2 million U.S. government employees. It said there was no evidence that the lost information ended up in the hands of thieves.
Those two lapses set off a flurry of activity on Capitol Hill, including hearings on identity theft and several bills to punish offenders.
The breach at LexisNexis was uncovered after a billing complaint by a customer of the company's Seisint unit led to the discovery that personal information might have been misappropriated. Law enforcement authorities are assisting the company's investigation.