A new research center to combat identity fraud—backed by a high-level group of government agencies, universities and corporations—was announced June 28.
The Center for Identity Management and Information Protection will be based at Utica College in central New York State and is being supported by the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI, IBM and LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Group. Academic partners include Carnegie Mellon University’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) coordination center, Indiana University’s Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research and Syracuse University’s CASE Center for high-tech research.
The center’s mission will be drive research into critical issues in identity management, information sharing policy and data protection.
“The formation of the center is an important step in focusing a national research agenda and providing the intense scrutiny that fraud, cybercrime and terrorism demand,” Todd Hutton, president of Utica College, said in a statement announcing the center’s formation.
Studies have shown that identify fraud and theft cost businesses as much as $50 billion annually. Recent data thefts, including the loss of information on more than 26 million veterans contained on a laptop stolen from the home of an employee of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, have drawn attention to the problem.
Officials said the center will focus its efforts in five areas:
In an initial research project, the center will work with the Bureau of Justice Assistance to examine current and emerging Internet criminal groups, with a focus on their methods of operation.
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