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TransUnion Joins Utica College's CIMIP


Research Collaborative to Further National Identity Management Research Agenda

Written By Christine Leogrande

Utica College's Center for Identity Management and Information Protection adds another corporate partner

Contact
cleogrande@utica.edu

Utica, NY (10/25/2006)
- TransUnion joined Utica College's Center for Identity Management and Information Protection (CIMIP), a research collaborative composed of elite public and private sector organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Secret Service, LexisNexis, IBM and three prominent universities. The organization is dedicated to using applied research to further a national research agenda on identity management, information sharing and data protection.

"Fraud and related threats continue to evolve and present problems worldwide," said Michael Snitman, TransUnion's vice president and general manager - public sector. "Given our domain expertise, we are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work collaboratively with some of the world's leading organizations in the CIMIP to help companies and financial institutions better understand and address fraud in the Internet age."

Utica College's CIMIP was founded in June 2006 with the goal of working toward a more secure homeland by impacting policy, regulation and legislation. The organization is dedicated to:
-- Studying the trends, causes, early detection and prevention of identity fraud and theft
-- Understanding the evolving threat from cyber criminals, insiders and organized crime groups
-- Assessing the impact of policy decisions, legislation, and regulatory actions
-- Improving identity authentication systems to reduce fraud and improper payments, and protect national security
-- Studying the use of information, its protection, and the role of enabling technologies to facilitate privacy and information sharing

"In examining vertical market segments and assembling our team of leading identity management organizations, it became clear that we needed a credit and information management company," said Dr. Gary R. Gordon, CIMIP's executive director and professor of Economic Crime Management at Utica College. "We are very pleased that TransUnion has joined CIMIP because its data and intellectual assets significantly strengthen our resources and it will help us in bringing our applied research on identity management to fruition."

TransUnion offers a comprehensive fraud and identity management solutions portfolio to major institutions around the country. In addition, its unique fraud victim's assistance department counsels consumers affected by fraud. "CIMIP will provide a win-win environment to help us exchange deep knowledge of fraud and identity management," said Snitman.

CIMIP conducts studies and hosts conferences to promote new prevention strategies, improved information sharing, innovative information use and enhanced technological solutions. CIMIP is an outgrowth of Utica College's academic programs and the Economic Crime Institute (ECI), the forerunner in providing academic programs in economic crime investigation and economic crime management.

CIMIP academic partners include Syracuse University’s CASE Center, Carnegie Mellon University’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), and Indiana University’s Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research.

TransUnion is also one of the co-founding partners of the Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel (IDSP), a coalition of major corporations led by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). Its objectives are to identify existing identity theft and fraud prevention standards and areas where updated or new standards are needed.


About Utica College
Founded in 1946, Utica College is a comprehensive private institution that grants the Syracuse University baccalaureate degree and the Utica College master's and doctoral degrees. The college, located in upstate central New York, currently enrolls approximately 2,900 undergraduate and graduate students in 31 undergraduate majors, 24 minors, 13 master's and two doctoral degree programs.

About TransUnion
TransUnion is a leading global information solutions company that customers trust as a business intelligence partner and commerce facilitator. TransUnion offers a broad range of financial services that enable customers to manage risk and capitalize on market opportunities. The company uses advanced technology coupled with extensive analytical capabilities to combat fraud and facilitate credit transactions between businesses and consumers across multiple markets. Founded in 1968, Chicago-based TransUnion employs 4,100 associates that support clients in more than 30 countries. Visit us at www.TransUnion.com/business.


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