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Fraud, hacking and identity theft are in the news on a daily basis.  But what is the real impact?

Enter the post to see the magnitude of fraud, identity related crimes, vulnerabilities of financial institutions and the infrastructure of our country as a whole. It is clear that something must be done to mitigate these issues, or else the consequences will be disastrous.

Mainstream media seems to be staying just as far away from any reporting around banking as they are cyber security in this year's election.  One reporter who is writing against the trend is The Huffington Post's Jeff Connaughton.  Jeff is the author of "THE PAYOFF: Why Wall Street Always Wins," and served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Ted Kaufman during the 111th Congress. Early this week, Mr. Connaughton clearly articulated why neither Mitt Romney and the Republicans nor President Obama and many Democrats favor breaking up the big banks, one of the best ways to prevent another taxpayer bailout after a financial crisis. That said, in last Wednesday's presidential debate, Governor Romney said the Dodd-Frank Act is "the biggest kiss that's been given to New York banks I've ever seen," claiming the Act enshrines...

Next week, on October 11, I’ll be in Boston for the Foley & Lardner LLP Emerging Technologies Conference. We’ve all heard the idiom that it takes a village to raise a child. Can the same be true for successful start-ups? Through panel discussions and breakout sessions, entrepreneurs, start-up company executives, business growth managers, technology investors and technology company advisers will discuss strategies for effectively collaborating and growing successful companies. Foley is bringing together top business experts and successful entrepreneurs who will analyze the current market and provide insight and best practices to help attendees position their companies for growth. We’ll discuss topics such as uncovering the secrets of the serial entrepreneur, financing, tapping the market leaders in your industry, managing your IP, security and leveraging data, among many others. The conference will feature...

The New York Times reported yesterday that American banks were hit in a wave of computer attacks last week by a group claiming Middle Eastern ties. This hack caused Internet blackouts and delays in online banking. The targets of last week’s computer attacks included heavy hitters in the banking industry: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citi. Frustrated customers of these banks were unable to access to their accounts or pay bills online, a situation made far worse because the banks had not explained clearly what was going on. The real story here is that these attacks happen everyday. And these attacks are the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to identity related crimes crisis facing the U.S. The most recent report from Javelin Strategy & Research and the Better Business Bureau indicates that ID theft cost businesses and consumers more than $57 billion last year. The majority of that cost is borne by the companies themselves, but consumers did spend almost $4 billion in out-of-pocket...

I recently presented our vision for Identity Certainty at the Cape Cod Defense Industry Offsets Association, or DIOA. It’s important to understand that the history of the DIOA, which started on July 22, 1982. At this time, representatives of 12 U.S. defense contractors met at Hughes Aircraft in Torrance, California to discuss and share information about how each company was organized to deal with “offset” requirements of foreign governments. Offset requirements are obligations under which a company commits to place business or create value for international customers in return for receiving a defense contract. Offset requirements were emerging as a new and common element of the international...

TEDx events – local divisions of the world renowned TED Talks – are an amazing experience, and I have been fortunate enough to present at two of these events.  After wrapping up my second talk in Kansas City last week, I realized that it’s truly the people who make these events such an extraordinary experience.  The people who organize, support, present and most importantly, those who attend make TEDx the great event it is.    The theme for the evening was “The Long View” which included presentations from ten different people and groups that made the audience and presenters alike sit up and really think. More than 1,500 people attended the sold out event to listen to “Ideas Worth Spreading” as TED calls them – 10-18 minute presentations about all kinds of topics and ideas that are unusually thought provoking and moving. My talk on Extreme Identity followed the half way mark intermission and a moving talk by Janine Shepherd titled “You Are Not Your Body.” Janine is a walking paraplegic; she is also a qualified...

As I prepare to take the stage in late August at TEDxKC and join a small group of extreme thinkers, I am honored and excited.  At TEDxKC I will talk about the convergence of physical and digital identity that is upon us, what I’ve been referring to as Extreme Identity.  The way we think about affirming our identities is undergoing a major shift forward, and the impact this will have on the world will be astounding.   All identity-focused technology has tremendous implications on the tenets of privacy and security.  With this technology comes the enablement of almost complete surveillance by linking all transaction data across physical locations, digital networks, on laptops, tablets or the smart phones we all carry in our pockets.  At the same time, there is promise that this technology will create a new world where a person can reclaim his or her identity and enable a place where protecting information is top of mind - where personal security and privacy...

The major news in the tech world this past week is the announcement that Starbucks invested $25 million in mobile payments service provider, Square, valuing the start-up at $3.25 billion.  Some people are even speculating that this is the beginning of the ‘end of cash;’ the start of a truly digital age.   Many in the payments industry differ on this cashless perspective, as cash still maintains a substantial piece of the global payments pie.  Whether it is the next big thing or just the beginning of another blip on in the evolution of payments, one thing is for certain: the Square / Starbucks deal does not mean the end of fraud.   Don’t be fooled: systems like this can be hacked just as easily as your credit card can be stolen. At the end of the day, you’re trying to assert that you are who you say you are (and that it’s linked to your own bank account), but can easily be replicated...

Well, tomorrow is the big day.  TEDxEast kicks off in less than 24 hours.  This year’s event, ”The View from In Here,” will offer an examination of multiple perspectives – the shades of grey that inhabit all aspects of life. It will be for the attendees to decide if the ideas presented are the beginning of the end or the next big thing; magnanimous or mercurial; useful or useless. For the incredible Leonardo da Vinci, the eye was tremendously important. He believed that the eye was “the window of the soul” and the most critical of the senses by which we experience the natural world.  During my talk tomorrow, I will describe the eye as the key that will unlock your world. The convergence of one’s digital and one’s physical presence is upon us and marks the very beginning of what people like Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil say will be the singularity.  Technological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities...

This Friday, May 11th, I will have the opportunity the take the stage and present at the Times Center in the New York Times building, located in the heart of Times Square, as part of the TEDxEast conference.   The ‘instructions’ from TED about the format of a TED talk are themselves pretty interesting – “you have just 18 minutes to give the talk of your life.” And they are serious about that. In fact, they’ve created Ten Commandments: • Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick • Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou Hast Never Shared Before • Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion • Thou Shalt Tell a Story • Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Sake of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy • Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success. • Thou Shalt Not Sell from the Stage: Neither thy Company, thy Goods, thy Writings, nor thy Desperate need...