Protecting your personal information from identity theft
Australia, 18 November 2019 – Today, global information services company Experian has announced the launch of their proprietary internet surveillance technology CyberAgent in Australia and New Zealand.
Six million online records globally are breached every day, including personal information such as telephone numbers and email addresses. By monitoring thousands of websites and millions of data points on the dark web, CyberAgent proactively detects compromised confidential records.
Designed specifically for international protection of online records, more than 3.5 billion compromised records have been detected globally by CyberAgent to date, with companies across financial services, telecommunications, retail and many more offering their customers this unrivalled suite of customer identity protection services.
The online portal solution is able to break language barriers and uncover identity theft across the globe by searching the dark web for:
- National Identity Numbers
- Email addresses
- Telephone numbers
- Medical ID numbers (i.e Medicare and private health numbers)
- Bank Account and routing numbers
- Credit/debit card numbers
- Drivers licence numbers
- Passport numbers
- Retail credit numbers
“If your personal information gets into the hands of hackers, it can be used to access and use your credit cards, take out loans and mortgages in your name, open new bank accounts and more,” explains Experian’s Head of Fraud and ID A/NZ, Karine Smyth. “Australian and New Zealand businesses need to be protecting their customers personal information as a priority, in order to maintain customer trust and retention.
“The dark web is a hidden network of websites that requires special resources for access. CyberAgent not only has access to the network, but also continuously monitors the dark web, notifying consumers if and when we find their personal information is being compromised. Essentially, we are empowering consumers to react quickly and proactively to protect themselves from identity theft and fraudulent activity.”
The implementation of CyberAgent is simple and efficient and the platform can be customised according to a company’s specific technical requirements. Businesses will then be able to direct their customers to the online portal, where consumers can log in securely and input the credentials they wish to be monitored. From there, the individual will receive an immediate report on any match of credentials identified, in addition to ongoing alerts as and when future matches are detected.
“Experian is leveraging our global capabilities to help Australian businesses fight the battle of fraud and identity theft,” Ms Smyth explained. “Fraud is a growing, lucrative industry with organised criminals trying to find bridges to Australian and New Zealand business’ and consumers’ personal information. It is crucial to protect individuals and our businesses.”
With the capability to monitor credential theft across the globe, CyberAgent is also available in the UK, US, Brazil and across EMEA and APAC.