Dr. Joe Campana a privacy and information security expert and author of a book on privacy and information security, Privacy MakeOver: The Essential Guide to Best Practices , recently produced a short video for National Data Privacy Day 2009, "Stealing Social Security Numbers on the Web" , which demonstrates how easy it is to access Social Security Numbers on government Web sites. Campana produced and published the video to bring this common risk to the attention of consumers.

My Privacy Tools, Inc. announced today the release of Hide My IP 2009, the latest version of the popular Windows-based anonymous web surfing software. This latest edition brings new features and improvements over previous versions of the software.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the State Police and the Department of Transportation today unveiled an updated "Identity Theft Action Plan" Web site to help consumers prevent, and recover from, identity theft.

The Free Edition of Identity Finder will will discover unprotected instances of consumers' credit card numbers and passwords that they didn't know existed in hidden areas and files on their computers. The Free Edition also comes with fully functioning security tools to clean personal information stored inside their web browsers, permanently shred any file on their computer so it can never be recovered by a hacker, encrypt any file so it cannot be read without a password, and manage multiple passwords inside Identity Finder's secure password vault.

In the first 11 months of 2008 there have been a record number of corporate data breaches -588 companies have been responsible for compromising the private information of more than 33 million people. Beyond the damaged or lost relationships with customers and the bad publicity, there are legal and economic consequences that can compound the issue. Fines can range from $1,000 to $2,500 per individual record compromised.

GuardChild introduces a new "One-Stop" holistic Website designed to provide parents, guardians and educators with resources needed to protect children online from sexual predators, pornography, and educational resources to increase their knowledge about the dangers of unsupervised internet surfing by children.

Retina-X Studios, LLC, announced today the immediate availability of Mobile Spy for the Apple iPhone. Using this groundbreaking iPhone technology, users can silently monitor incoming and outgoing text messages (SMS) and call information of children or employees -- even if activity logs are erased. Mobile Spy had already been available for Windows Mobile and Symbian OS smartphones. The new version for the iPhone is now on the market.

The season of giving may come at a price as cybercriminals take advantage of one of the busiest online retail seasons of the year and rely upon various social engineering schemes and scams to lure unknowing users. Trend Micro threat researchers say that consumers who conduct their holiday shopping online either at work or at home may be putting both home and corporate networks at risk for Web threats, viruses and identity theft.

Cyveillance, the world leader in cyber intelligence, today announced that for the second consecutive year Thanksgiving week saw a significant spike in phishing threats, with 8,298 attacks, a 300 percent increase from last year.

Panda Security, a leading provider of IT security solutions, today announced the availability of a guide containing practical tips to help consumers safely do their holiday shopping online. Panda Security's practical guide, which explains the main security threats and how to protect against them, is available for free download here (pdf).