Why Is
Every Information Leak Worse Than Originally Thought? While
there have been an incredible number of stories about data leaks
over the past couple of months, one interesting thing is that in so
many cases, the companies involved later come out and admit that
the problem was much worse than they first admitted. That happened
with ChoicePoint
and LexisNexis,
who both had to come out a second time and admit that the original
data breach they discussed wasn't as limited as they had believed.
The latest is that the DSW Shoe Warehouse database that was stolen
included
information (including credit cards) on many, many more people than
originally stated. So rather than 100,000 credit cards out
there, we're talking 1.4 million. What's unclear, however, is why
this is happening. Is it that these companies are so clueless and
unable to manage their own data that they don't realize how badly
they've leaked data until they do further investigations? Or is
that the companies are still trying to hide the nature of the
losses until later (maybe spreading them out a bit)? Either way,
you'll notice that no one ever seems to correct the damages in the
other direction...
It would be interesting to see the make up of the
IS infrastructure behind these companies. If such information was
possible I would have much better context for a broader
understanding of my suspicions (outlined in
previous comments).
Data is everything! I just wish there was a
better appreciation and comprehension of the subject of
Data Access.