His solution? Federal law that requires government agencies and private industry to encrypt, or digitally scramble, sensitive data.

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1 NET GAIN Scoring points for your financial future AS SEEN IN USA TODAY S MONEY SECTION, FEBRUARY 9, 2007 Tec experts plot to catc identity tieves Politicians to security gurus offer ideas to prevent data breaces By Jon Swartz SAN FRANCISCO Te topic of data protection stole te sow at te RSA Conference on computer security ere tis week. Identity teft and corporate espionage were dominant temes among te 15,000 attendees. And wit good reason. Data are te new currency of te Internet age for legitimate and illegitimate businesses, says Howard Scmidt, former cief information security off icer of ebay wo now is a consultant. Data ave never been sared as quickly, and in suc vast amounts. But as millions of Americans use personal data to sop and bank online, and as more companies store data electronically, tey remain targets for online fraudsters, Scmidt and oters said. Microsoft Cairman Bill Gates, security experts, politicians and oter analysts offered teir takes on te problems, and suggestions to fix tem: "Te most dangerous breac." Identity teft was, again, a major source of discussion. Tere was no sortage of and-wringing over te consequences of consumer data ending up in te ands of fraudsters, and te fear was igligted by an FTC report of rampant consumer complaints about identity teft. But te unreported filcing of data from government agencies and private enterprises worries Ricard Clarke. "ID teft is one ting, but te teft of proprietary information witout te knowledge of te government or a private business is anoter," Clarke, best-selling autor and former Wite House cybersecurity czar, said Wednesday. "Te most dangerous breac is one you are unaware of." Te cost to companies and agencies is immeasurable, says Clarke, in town to take in te conference and plug is cybertriller, Breakpoint. And e fears te treat is growing, especially from Russia and Cina. His solution? Federal law tat requires government agencies and private industry to encrypt, or digitally scramble, sensitive data. On Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Patrick Leay, D- Vt., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., introduced a data-privacy bill tat makes it a crime to conceal security breaces involving personal data. Gates: "A stupid system." Identity teft was also on te mind of Gates, wo visibly perked up wen te subject turned to te credit cardissuing system during an interview after is Tuesday morning speec. "It's a stupid system," e said, waving is ands dismissively. "It's a weak system wen someone wit your Social Security number or moter's maiden name can apply for credit witout you knowing it." Gates says te problem is largely solvable wit an autorization system tat requires consumers' final approval wen any financial transaction is made under teir name. He suggests biometric smart cards as part of a solution tat could be acieved witin five years. But tere will be a "paradigm sift" only wen fraud costs force a cange in te system, Gates says. Federal law? Tere were rumblings trougout convention alls and otel lobbies about a pus in Congress to make a federal law protecting consumers from te loss of sensitive information. Reprinted wit permission. All rigts reser ved.

Identity teft and corporate espionage were dominant temes among te 15,000 attendees. And wit good reason.

2 AS SEEN IN USA TODAY S MONEY SECTION, FEBRUARY 9, 2007 But te autor of California's databreac notification law used as a model for more tan 30 oter states is worried a weak national law would pre-empt stronger state laws. "Let's not sacrifice te standard set in California on te altar of federal regulation," said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto. FTC Cairman Debora Platt Majoras, wile sensitive to te consequences for consumers, says se favors a strong national law. Tere are at least two pieces of legislation in Congress, including te Leay-Specter bill, tat would require companies to publicly disclose data breaces. Since February 2005, more tan 100 million records containing personal information ave been subject to some sort of security breac, according to te non-profit Privacy Rigts Clearingouse. Hackers go sopping. Consumers aren't te only ones sopping online. A ras of recent data breaces suggest ackers also are sopping for te personal data of consumers at major retailers. TJX, wic operates more tan 2,500 stores under suc cains as T.J. Maxx and Marsalls, last mont said an outside audit of its PCs indicated ackers ad broken in and potentially ad access to a wide range of financial information. "Were do you get credit card information from? If not banks, ten retail outlets," says Art Coviello, president of RSA Security, te company tat sponsored te conference. Citing market researcer IDC, e says tere was a $1 billion market among cybercrooks for te sale of stolen identities last year. Attacks ave increased against retailers, e says, as large financial institutions ave fortified teir computer-security systems, forcing tieves to go elsewere. Retail payment systems were not designed wit security in mind, and ackers are finding weak links especially among retailers tat ave te most sensitive data stored, said Aviva Litan, an analyst at market researcer Gartner, in a pone interview. Reprinted wit permission. All rigts reserved. Page 2

FTC Cairman Debora Platt Majoras, wile sensitive to te consequences for consumers, says se favors a strong national law.

3 NET GAIN Scoring points for your financial future Tec experts plot to catc identity tieves Objectives: Students will: Preparations: Eac student will need: Read te article Tec experts plot to catc identity tieves. A copy of te article Tec experts plot to catc identity tieves. Answer te discussion questions. A copy of tis lesson. List ways ID tieves steal information. Access to te Internet. Identify ways fraud is committed. Write ways to protect temselves against ID teft. Navigate a reliable website for information relevant to teir lives. 20 minutes Read te article and discuss questions Read Tec experts plot to catc identity tieves. Wen you are finised reading, discuss and answer te following questions as a class. According to te article, wat two crimes garnered a lot of attention at te RSA convention in 2007? Define tose two crimes. Wat is te most dangerous breac? Wat is Ricard Clarke s solution to stopping identity teft and corporate espionage? Wat qualifications does Clarke ave to suggest tis solution? Wat is Bill Gates solution to stopping identity teft? Wic solution do you tink would work better: Clarke s or Gates? Wy? Do you tink getting te government involved in minimizing information breaces is a good ting? Wy or wy not? Wat would be your solution for minimizing information breaces? List te many repercussions of aving your identity stolen. Wat would you ave to do to get your identity back and get your credit problems cleared up? Page 3

Identify ways fraud is committed. Write ways to protect temselves against ID teft. Navigate a reliable website for information relevant to teir lives.

4 minutes Activity: Keeping Your Good Name Wit a partner, go to te Federal Trade Commission s website at to answer te questions below. Name six ways tieves steal personal information Wat is pising? Have you received tese offers in your ? Describe te offer. How did you know it was fraudulent? 1. According to te FTC, wat kinds of fraud do tieves commit wit te information? Name at least tree. Wat is one way you can find out if your personal information as been used fraudulently? 1. If your identity is stolen, wat are tree steps you sould take to stop te fraud? How can you proctect yourself from identity teft in te first place? Page 4

How did you know it was fraudulent? 1. According to te FTC, wat kinds of fraud do tieves commit wit te information? Name at least tree.

5 30 minutes Activity: Calculating te Cost of Identity Teft Wit your partner, use te cart to answer te answer te questions tat follow it. New Accounts & Oter Frauds Existing Non- Credit Card Accounts Existing Credit Cards Onliy All ID Teft Value of goods and services obtained by itentity tieves Median $1,350 $457 $350 $ t Percentile $15,000 $3,800 $4,000 $6, t Percentile $30,000 $6,000 $7,000 $13,000 Victims Out-of- Pocket Expenses Median $40 $0 $0 $0 90 t Percentile $3,000 $900 $132 $1, t Percentile $5,000 $1,200 $400 $2,000 Hours Victims Spent Resolving Teir Problems Median t Percentile t Percentile 1, Sample size n = Source: Tis table presents various measures of te costs of ID teft. Rater tan average values, te table uses median values (te point at wic alf te victims fell above te number and alf below). A minority of ID tefts result in muc greater arm tan te typical case. Because tese large values ave a significant impact on te average value, te median better represents te typical experience. To capture te experiences of tose wo suffer te most serious arm, te table also reports values for te 90t percentile and 95t percentile of arms reported. For tis survey, 4,917 people were surveyed. Tese people represented te 2294 million residents of te United States wo were 18 and older as of July Wat does median mean? Wat was te median time it took for a consumer to resolve te fraud problems on existing credit cards? Wat was te median time it took for a consumer to resolve te fraud problems on all identity teft? 4. 7 percent of te people surveyed said tey were victims of identity teft in How many people would tat represent in te wole United States? 5. If te average teft was $500, ow muc money did tieves get in 2005 from stealing identities? 6. Ten percent of people surveyed wo ad been victims said it took about 55 ours to resolve problems related to any kind of identity teft. If you make $8 an our, and it takes 55 ours to resolve tese problems, ow muc could tis potentially cost you just in lost wages? Discuss: Wit all te information you ve learned in tis lesson, wat main conclusions can you draw about te causes and effects of identity teft? Page 5

Percentile $15,000 $3,800 $4,000 $6,000 95 t Percentile $30,000 $6,000 $7,000 $13,000 Victims Out-of- Pocket Expenses Median $40 $0 $0 $0 90 t Percentile $3,000 $900 $132 $1,200 95 t Percentile

A strong credit score can help you score a lower rate on a mortgage

A strong credit score can help you score a lower rate on a mortgage NET GAIN Scoring points for your financial future AS SEEN IN USA TODAY S MONEY SECTION, JULY 3, 2007 A strong credit score can elp you score a lower rate on a mortgage By Sandra Block Sales of existing