IMPERSONATION – Without protection, it’s no joke

With heightened awareness of identity fraud, leading IT Expert encourages people to be ever vigilant about securing their data on computers, mobiles, MP3 players and PDAs.
For immediate release – 17th Februrary 2006

FLEET (Hampshire, UK) – February 2006 – “Protect yourself” is the motto that leading IT Expert, Rob Shrubsall of the CONTENTENGINEER Group is advising people to adopt in these times of heightened identity fraud. “Recent statistics show an increase in fraud and forgery [1] and with more than half the households in the UK now having access to the internet [2]; the opportunity for criminals to steal identity details and impersonate people increases,” warned Rob Shrubsall, Founder and Chief Technical Expert at CONTENTENGINEER Group.

Store Passwords Safely

With one in four people claiming to have been or know someone who has been a victim [3] with statistics showing that in excess of 100,000 people affected by identity theft per annum [4]; Mr Shrubsall is advising people to secure their data more thoroughly. “As a company that deals in data recovery and computer forensics from computers, mobile phones, MP3 players and personal digital assistants (PDAs), it is commonplace for people to store passwords and PINs in unencrypted format on these types of devices”, explained Mr Shrubsall. “The devices provide a very convenient mechanism for recording frequently used data, but if these are lost or stolen, they can provide an opportunity for criminals.”

The Information Society

Traditionally, identity theft has focussed on securing paper based personal details including driving licences, passports and birth certificates – documents that enable people to impersonate the unsuspecting and commit crimes including bank and credit card fraud, telecommunications fraud, drug offences and money laundering.

The miniaturisation of electronic components now enables vast quantities of data to be stored in handheld devices, and because everybody is now burdened with more passwords and PIN numbers than ever before; it is not surprising that people turn to mobile phones and PDAs to help them remember these critical numbers. “The information society that we live in enables people to purchase goods online 24/7, and reap the benefits of rapid delivery,” explained Mr Shrubsall, “the internet has made a phenomenal change to people’s lives. Internet retailers spend millions of pounds securing their websites from fraudulent activity, but this security can be worthless if people fail to secure their usernames, email addresses and passwords, or inadvertently store them for ease of access on computers, mobile phones or PDAs.”

Service Based Solutions

The CONTENTENGINEER Group provides a range of services related to electronic data storage, including technology advisory, data recovery, computer forensics and IT expert witness services. The Group is often engaged to recover data from computer hard disks, mobile phone memory, SIM cards, PDA memory cards and digital cameras. The Group has undertaken trials, sourcing second user hard disks from auction sites, subjecting the media to standard recovery processes, and was taken aback by the quantity of information still held on the disks or memory devices.

Care in Disposal

“Even if people think that a computer has broken, mobile phone has stopped working or PDA has crashed, they frequently still hold information,” added Mr Shrubsall, “and by simply formatting the disk will not erase all the data. All such devices need to be disposed of carefully, especially computer hard disks that should ideally go through a thorough disk wiping process that randomises each and every bit of data a number of times.” Using the internet for shopping and banking can be safe, reminded Mr Shrubsall, as long as everybody takes precautions to protect their valuable data, usernames, passwords, PIN numbers and security details. Do not use the same password for more than one account if at all possible, and never EVER use passwords for online banking on other websites.

For more information and a short guide to Identity Protection readers can visit the CONTENTENGINEER Group website www.contentengineer.com/identity

Notes to Editors

About the CONTENTENGINEER^® Group

The CONTENTENGINEER Group are independent experts based in the UK's own "silicon valley" near London in the M3/M4 corridor. The Group has the knowledge and resource to provide independent expertise and with proven methodologies, the Group provides a broad spectrum of services including software development, computer forensics, data recovery and expert witness services.

About the Founders

The Group was founded in 2001 by Rob and Sarah Shrubsall.

Rob Shrubsall is recognised as one of the UK's leading independent information system experts and investigators of electronic data storage with twenty years experience. An open systems pioneer, he has specifically worked in highly regulated markets of E-Commerce, Telecommunications, Corporate Finance, Equity Trading, Pharmaceuticals and HealthCare, as well as a trusted adviser to other industries.

Sarah Shrubsall is pioneer in the field of energy finance management, with over twenty years experience of implementing: monitoring, targeting and auditing systems. As UK Energy Finance Manager, she was responsible for the first organisation in the UK to receive electronic invoice data through EDI. She has specifically worked in Telecommunications, Finance, Building Services and Property.

Trademarks

contentengineer^®, contentforensic^®, woodlandstudios^®, and FETL^® are registered trademarks. contentrecover™, vendorneutral™ and energyforensics™ are trademarks. Copyright 2001-2010. All rights reserved. Other marks may be the [registered] trademarks of others.

Contacts

For more information please contact the Group on 01252 621843, via the website www.contentengineer.com or by info@contentengineer.com.