You hear about it in the news and it happens in private industry all too frequently; another database containing customers’ personal information is hacked. There is a war over this data every day between cybersecurity professionals securing data and cybercriminals that want to steal it. It’s called Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and it’s potentially worth millions of dollars.
And it’s not just credit card numbers stored on your favorite online vendor’s information systems that they’re after. There is a wide range of information that is useful, particularly in identity theft where criminals seek to impersonate you for personal gain. Everything from your Social Security number to your college transcripts could be their target.
That means the laboratory is their target as well. Know how to identify and protect PII. You, as the holder of PII, are part of the battle. Visit the PII webpage on Inside Argonne for more information.