Leader: How to put out the fires of ID fraud

Every fire needs three ingredients: fuel, oxygen and heat. Take away any one and the fire will fizzle out.

It's the same thing with identity fraud - although here for fuel you have sensitive personal data, for oxygen you have the easy access to that information, and for heat - bad guys. But the idea is the same - take any one of the ingredients away and the problem ought to go away too.

silicon.com's Full Disclosure campaign - what we are asking for...

silicon.com wants the government to review its data protection legislation and improve the reporting of information security breaches in the public and private sectors.

We are calling for greater public debate and for the government to consider legislation that would require organisations that suffer information security breaches to alert their customers if there is a chance the breach has put individuals' sensitive personal data at risk.

We want to hear your views about this campaign and the issues it raises. Make your voice heard by leaving a Reader Comment below, emailing us at editorial@silicon.com or signing the 10 Downing Street e-petition.

But - we aren't likely to do away with the need for personal information any time soon, and the bad guys don't seem to be going anywhere either.

Which means to stomp out this fire we need to improve protection of that data - by businesses and consumers.

A big part of the identity fraud problem is down to a lack of understanding of the value of data. A few savvy consumers shred every piece of paper that they need to dispose of but the vast majority still don't understand that when putting out bank statements and utility bills with the rubbish they might as well throw out the contents of their bank accounts too.

Information - now more than ever - equals money.

And this is a lesson that many businesses need to learn too. Too many do a poor job of protecting the data we give them. And if their systems are lax and data is leaked, then they should be punished - which is what silicon.com's Full Disclosure campaign is about. Equally, when a crime is committed companies also need to be able to report it to police who will act on the information - although that is a separate issue.

And so it's a welcome move that MPs in the All Party Group on Identity Fraud have furthered the debate by calling for an "identity fraud tsar" to tackle this growing crime and co-ordinate the fight against it. But it's not clear whether we need an ID fraud tsar - there are plenty of existing watchdogs, including the information commissioner, which already tackle parts of the problem.

But whoever is in charge, the first issue that needs to be dealt with is educating both businesses and the public that personal data has a value and that we throw it away - or give it away to organisations that won't protect it - at our peril.

Taking away the easy availability of personal data will starve the identity fraud fire of oxygen - and take the wind out of the fraudsters' sails.