Identity Theft and Presented at Policy Conferences

The Federal Trade Commission deals with issues that touch the economic lives of most Americans. The current portfolio includes protecting consumers in the areas of data security and privacy, identity theft, Social Security number misuse, identity management, spam, maintaining the National Do Not Call Registry, and other IT issues of interest to colleges and universities. The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, although a regulator of businesses, is also an educator: it seeks to educate consumers and provide businesses and other organizations with the information they need to comply with the rules of the road and to provide consumers with the necessary tools to engage in commerce intelligently. This session will highlight information policy issues the FTC is addressing and educational resources institutions of higher education can leverage to improve student, faculty, and staff awareness of data security and privacy risks.

As Congress strives to pass legislation that would provide a uniform federal law for security breach notifications, a number of related privacy and security policy proposals are under consideration in the Congress and executive branch agencies. This panel will address topics such as preventing misuse of Social Security numbers, requirements for a personal data privacy and security programs, and measures to prevent identity theft.