Personal data held by LexisNexis and compromised by security brea...

track down about 280,000 more people whose data may have been swiped. The new total followed scrutiny at Seisint, recently acquired by LexisNexis, plus inquiries at other LexisNexis units. In some 59 incidents, unauthorized persons, mainly using IDs and passwords of legitimate Seisint customers, may have acquired key data such as Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. The information broker is offering individuals it has notified free help dealing with possible fraud from identity theft, including credit bureau reports, credit monitoring for one year and fraud insurance. LexisNexis also will furnish fraud counseling and other help case-by-case. Kurt Sanford, CEO for corporate and federal markets, said: “We have taken a number of significant actions in recent weeks to further guard against these types of fraudulent intrusions at our customer sites and to enhance our security procedures and policies overall.” The LexisNexis announcement is “alarming, but hardly unusual,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.). “Every day seems to bring some horror story about how identity thieves have raided or conned their way into an electronic storehouse that was supposed to be safe and secure,” he said: “Identity theft is not much different than burglary, and more and more it looks like the crooks are walking into places where the doors and windows have been left open.” Barton said this reprises the question of whether it should be legal to sell a person’s SSN without permission. “Both Democrats and Republicans on this committee are determined to get to the bottom of this problem, and if it takes a new law to protect people from identity thieves, so be it.”