House of Butter has the details on how legal industry powerhouse, Westlaw, plans to amend its services to address the currend rising tide of concern about data security:

Westlaw will, we learn, sharply limit subscriber access to Social Security numbers in its database. This move was announced after the company's top executives met on Wednesday night with Sen. Charles Schumer, D.-N.Y., a sponsor of one of several bills before Congress addressing identity theft.

After the meeting Schumer characterized Westlaw's action as a model for the rest of the data-brokerage industry. "This is a victory for consumers and a big loss for criminals who want to steal your Social Security number and your identity,"

In an E-mail message to InformationWeek, Peter Warwick, CEO of Westlaw publisher Thomson West, said events of the past months in which personal information was stolen from competitors' databases illustrates the importance of tougher controls. "The ultimate test for us as a business is to do the right thing," he said.

According to Sen Schumer, Westlaw had now eliminated access to 85% of its clients, mostly lawyers and government agencies--including the U.S. Senate.

Westlaw will also no longer will sign contracts granting full access to Social Security numbers. Individual passwords will be given to law-enforcement officials deemed eligible to view full Social Security numbers.

House of Butter credits an InformationWeek.com article, which you can read here.

-- MDT

Labels: database, identity theft