New statements released on 2008 data breach
New statements from both Wyndham Hotels and the Florida attorney general remind potential identity theft breach victims to be vigilant in monitoring credit reports and activity.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, who late last year reported a data breach at one of its franchisees, released a February letter reminding potential identity theft victims of resources available to help them in protecting their personal information including monitoring credit reports.
The hotel group also noted, "At this time, no criminal identity theft related to the use of the consumer data breach has been identified. Importantly, we believe that it is unlikely that identity theft will occur because of the breach due to the limited amount of information that was compromised."
According to the letter, birthdates, social security numbers, and addresses were not retained by the hotels and were not part of the breach.
Florida attorney general Bill McCollum reiterated that the 21,000 potential Florida residents who could have been affected by the breach as identity theft victims should  monitor their credit reports for any suspicious activity and protect their personal information.
The attorney general also advises anyone who suspects problems to follow fraud prevention steps outlined by Wyndham that are available on its website including protecting personal information and monitoring credit reports.
U.S. recognizes data privacy holiday for second year
Living, working, and playing in the internet age requires extra attention to protecting personal information.
In an effort to advance awareness about data privacy, the U.S., Canada, and some European countries recognize Data Privacy Day.
Data Privacy Day is intended to help educate young adults on the importance of protecting your personal information online. According to Intel, more than 55 percent of teens use social networking sites.
Understanding the importance of this issue, members of congress got involved with legislation to make it a national holiday.
Congressman David Price of North Carolina sponsored the bill that officially designates January 28as Data Privacy Day.
According to Price, advances in networking technologies mean "we must recognize that as it becomes much easier to communicate, we must be vigilant in protecting our personal information. And specifically, young people who are participating in social networking sites should be made aware of the dangers of failing to protect their personal data. They need to know that not everyone on Facebook and MySpace is a friend."
A handful of states separately recognize Data Privacy Day and hold their own educational programs and events.
