[2983] in WWW Security List Archive
Re: Can you say "fraud"?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Mary Irene Wise)
Wed Sep 18 19:59:11 1996
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 17:00:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mary Irene Wise <auntyem@umich.edu>
To: www-security@ns2.rutgers.edu
In-Reply-To: <32403D9E.416C@cup.hp.com>
Errors-To: owner-www-security@ns2.rutgers.edu
Discussion closed as far as I'm concerned. I expected (since it was kinda
off topic) to get a few private email responses, not start a major
discussion thread. I apologize for all the fuss, and thanks to those of
you who replied; I got more than enough information.
Mary
On Wed, 18 Sep 1996, Gene Ingram wrote:
> After spending valuable time looking into this, I am quite annoyed
> considering it comes from a security newsgroup. :( A little research
> saved me from wasting further time and long distance faxing:
>
> Apparently Lexis-Nexis is getting a bad rap. A quote from their
> web page on P-TRAK (referred by some on the Internet as `Ptrax'),
> at http://www.lexis-nexis.com/lncc/about/ptrak.html below.
>
> ``LEXIS-NEXIS is aware of the sensitivities regarding the potential
> misuse of information. While business competitors of LEXIS-NEXIS have
> for some time made Social Security numbers available to users of their
> services, and continue to do so, LEXIS-NEXIS discontinued the display of
> Social Security numbers in the P-TRAK file as of June 11, 1996, eleven
> days after the product was introduced.
>
> ``There has been much erroneous information distributed on the Internet
> regarding the data displayed in the P-TRAK file. The displayed record
> may, but not always, include the name of the individual, the
> individual's maiden and assumed names, current as well as up to two
> previous addresses, month and year of birth and telephone number. That
> is the only information displayed in the P-TRAK file.
>
> ``Contrary to some messages that have been posted to some Internet
> discussion and news groups, the P-TRAK file does not contain any credit
> histories, bank account information or other personal financial data, or
> medical histories.
>
> ``The information displayed in the P-TRAK file is an aggregation readily
> available from public information sources such as telephone directories
> (in print and CD-ROM format) and public records maintained by government
> agencies.
>
> ``Through its actions, LEXIS-NEXIS is balancing the privacy concerns of
> the public with the legitimate needs of legal, business and government
> professionals for access to accurate sources of publicly available
> information. By discontinuing the display of Social Security numbers in
> P-TRAK and only providing information that is already available to the
> public from other sources, LEXIS-NEXIS believes it has responsibly met
> the expressed concerns of the public.''
>
> Discussion closed?
>
> --
> ___
> | ._ _ ._ _.._ _ ``I do not fear computers
> _|_| |(_|| (_|| | | I fear lack of them.'' -Isaac Asimov
> _____ _| _______________________________________________________
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--------------------------------- *** ------------------------------------
Mary Wise |
Computer Systems Specialist * auntyem@umich.edu
LSA Information Technology | homepage not availabe at this time
3557 LSA Bldg 1382 *
University of Michigan |
(313) 647-6230 *
|
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