Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Tiversa Research: Identity Theft Searches on the Rise

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 01/26/09
##AUTHORSPLIT##<--->

Identity theft searches are on the rise, according to Tiversa, suggesting that identify theft itself is also increasing. Research by the company, which specializes in helping organizations mitigate data leaks, said identity theft-related searches have risen by about a third during the last quarter of 2008.

The research is based on search data in an ongoing 18-month study by Tiversa, whose technology monitors about 450 million users issuing more than 1.5 billion searches a day. Data shows that search intent for sensitive information is on the rise, citing keywords related to personal banking logins, passwords, tax returns, credit card, account numbers, credit reports, and medical information.

The company said that the search increase from September 2007 to August 2008, while significant, was still minimal compared to the rapid rise seen from September 2008 to December 2008. Credit report searches rose by 78 percent, medical-related data searches rose by 42 percent, and credit-related and tax return searches rose by 37 and 36 percent, respectively.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Engineering team implements digital guardrails on AI

    3 Starting Points for Integrating AI Guardrails in K-12 Districts

    As education leaders start to craft an AI policy that is both practical and flexible enough to evolve with this fast-changing technology, there is at least one principle that should be foundational: AI should serve to augment human critical thinking and creativity but never replace human interaction and decision-making.

  • teacher holding laptop in the class at school

    80% of Teachers Are Using AI Tools in the Classroom

    In a recent survey by PreK-12 marketplace TPT, 80% of educators reported using generative AI tools in their classrooms. The majority (58%) said they use AI regularly or occasionally, while 22% have tried it once or twice.

  • interconnected nodes with currency symbols

    Report: Half of Gen AI Projects Could Exceed Budget by 2028

    Organizations may be underestimating the cost of generative AI as they move from experimentation to production, according to Gartner's "10 Best Practices for Optimizing Generative and Agentic AI Costs" report.

  • abstract data flow

    Google Announces New Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform

    Google Cloud has introduced a new platform for building and managing enterprise AI agents, as the company seeks to turn its Gemini models and Vertex AI tooling into a broader system for automating business workflows.