The Enemy Within !

Identity theft seems to be the crime of the twenty-first century.   The banks and a host of government departments legitimately hold all the information that thieves need to assume our identity and run up massive debts in our name   Our personal wealth is locked away behind passwords and pin numbers and should those defences be breached we faced financial ruin.

Before the computer began to rule the financial world life was simple.  Many people had passbook savings accounts and were personally known to the staff of the bank branch they usually visited.  It was difficult to cash a personal cheque unless you were a regular customer  with a known financial record.  Those were the days when cash was king in settling most debts.

In todays world, money changes hands electronically.  We make small purchases with a tap of a credit card or even our personal smartphone.  We are fast reaching the stage when most bills are paid via the internet and for that to happen the banks and other financial institutions that handle our money need to be able to establish our identity.   Within such organizations, thousands of people sit at computer terminals with access to that information.

How safe is our personal information  ?   It seems the police arrested a 28 year old financial services worker as he boarded a plane at Sydney airport with his wife and six month old baby with the intention  of flying to China.   A luggage search disclosed twenty-three identification documents relating to the customers of the financial institution for which he worked.    These contained names and addresses, date of birth, drivers licenses and passport photos.

This man came unstuck when he attempted to install a " dark web "  internet browser on his company supplied laptop.  His employers counter espionage system detected this discrepancy and alerted the security people - who called in the police.   It is very encouraging to know that the financial world has a high degree of protection in place to detect similar intrusions.

Had that browser been undetected it might have divulged the details of thousands of people to be sold to crooks across the world but there is a risk factor because every day a vast number of people need to legitimately access those personal details as they monitor money movements seeking to detect unusual buying patterns that seem suspicious.   Without that browser installation, the details collected would have gone unnoticed.

People without security clearance accessing computer information set off alarms, but the numbers legitimately handling personal information across the financial spectrum is vast.  It does raise the issue of whether contract workers should be employed in this sort of work when their allegiance is to another country and to which they are free to return.