Letter: A much better way to prevent identity theft

Thursday, March 31, 2005 | 9:05 a.m.

In response to the recent DMV break-in and subsequent theft of thousands of personal files, the Nevada Legislature recently announced its desire to spend millions on camera surveillance equipment to better protect DMV offices. While I understand the legislators' desire to provide better security, this multimillion-dollar surveillance camera proposal is not only a bad response to the problem, it also represents a waste of taxpayer money.

The answer to securing our important personal information lies in following the computer security rules already in place throughout the state and business world. These security rules include locking up critical equipment every night, using cable locks to ensure computers are difficult to remove by unauthorized persons, locking up all sensitive forms and driver's license blanks, following existing rules that ensure no consumer information is stored on remote office computers, and the enforcement of existing password and access procedures.

If these rules had been implemented and enforced prior to the DMV break-in, no sensitive consumer information would have been at risk and thousands of Nevadans would not today be at risk for identity theft. It doesn't take a pile of money to fix this problem, only some attention to the rules most businesses follow today.

ERIC READ Editor's note: The writer is a self- employed computer security consultant who has a number of local and national clients.