UK Banks Dump Credentials in Bin Bags

Plutonite writes "BBC news is reporting that several UK banks face 'unlimited fines' for careless handling of sensitive client information. This apparently came after investigators found account details while rummaging through the trash outside the banks involved. In this age of online banking and related security problems, and in light of this scandal, where can we expect to find the greatest threat of ID theft?"

Not in corporate offices

[truthsearch]

Most corporate Windows machines are behind firewalls. They're not perfect, but they're pretty good. Windows servers are almost always set up behind even more strict firewalls. Ideally servers exposed to the internet are on a different network segment than the internal servers containing even more data.

The greatest threat to ID theft has always been humans. The vast majority of security breaches are from social engineering.

Re:The greatest threat of ID theft? Windows

[zlogic]

Oh these Microsoft bastards!
If they never existed people would never throw away printed plain-text passwords, never stick access codes on post-it notes to their monitor, and everyone would be immune to social engineering.

Talinkg Points

[Jack Pallance]

1. I know this sounds a little extreme, but maybe the banks are borderline crminial organizations. Thirty-five dollars for a bounced check? Thirty Nine percent interest for a credit card? Some banks are just thieves.

2. I treat my personal data like it's already on billboards. Obviously the banks don't care about our privacy, so I try to use services where my personal information isn't needed. Using prepaid credit cards instead of a credit line at the bank, or money orders instead of a checking acount may be the way of the future if banks keep giving away our social security numbers.

The criminals already have all or our personal data. Now we need to act accordingly.