Personal information, especially sensitive information such as social security numbers are the responsibility of retailers to protect and guard. Data security rules have become very stringent and retailers have no other choice but to implement the right technology and security measures. Customers swipe their cards without a second thought, completely trusting the retailer.
AT&T employees at overseas call centers in Mexico, Colombia and the Phillipines stole customer information and accessed customer proprietary network. The data was sold and hackers misused them to unlock cell phones. The FCC has fined AT&T for not securing data properly. The $25 million fine reportedly is the largest one for a privacy and data security violation.
According to the report AT&T has to ‘appoint a certified privacy professional as senior compliance manager, conduct a privacy risk assessment, implement an information security program, prepare a privacy compliance manual, and train employees on the company’s privacy policies and privacy laws.’
In comments about the FCC action, Richard Blech, CEO and co-founder of Secure Channels said, “By outsourcing their call center to foreign countries to save money, AT&T has exposed Americans’ sensitive data to peril. If AT&T had simply budgeted for security as a priority and encrypted their customer’s sensitive data, AT&T’s frugality at hiring outside of the country would have still left Americans sensitive data and privacy protected.”
FCC report: http://www.fcc.gov/document/att-pay-25m-settle-investigation-three-data-breaches-0
Call 636-557-7777 or email pci@www.omegasecure.com for help with security in your network environment.
