Liberty Alliance tackles ID theft

The Liberty Alliance has formed a special task force to focus on finding and preventing identity theft.

The Identity Theft Prevention Group (ITPG) will not just look at technical ways to solve the problem, but will examine how user education and better security policies could prove effective against the growing problem of identity fraud.

"Nine per cent of US online consumers, or an estimated six million online households, have experienced identity theft," said Kate Delhagen, principal analyst at Forrester Research's Retail Group.

"Only 21 per cent of these consumers think their credit cards are secure online. Because of this security scepticism, retailers must go above and beyond the normal security practices to build trust and increase consumer interest in purchasing online."

The ITPG will have its first Identity Theft Workshop on 20 July in Chicago, where attendees will analyse identity theft attack vectors and come up with countermeasures.

The goal is to produce a definitive document that reflects the knowledge and experience of all of the people in attendance.

"You cannot tackle what you do not understand," said Michael Barrett, former president of the Liberty Alliance and current co-chairman of the ITPG.

"Our team is analysing this problem from every angle and painting a clear picture of what we are up against.

"From this we will be able to provide a comprehensive view of the issues and threats, recognise behaviours that put organisations and consumers at risk, and present specific guidance on avoiding these actions."