The last comment made in a recent BBC article concerning hi-tech crime made me pause for thought this afternoon.

Paul Henry from Secure Computing put forward the idea that the only sure way to reduce identity theft and related crime would be to lower the value of personal identity to the point where it no longer holds value for hackers.

Is this a valid argument?

Advertising agencies and corporations will pay a fortune to know your personal details. Ok, so these data are more to do with what kind of car you drive, or your breakfast cereal preferance. Yet if they are willing to invest vast sums in behavioural marketing technologies, so will black market traders be interested in other elements of your digital footprint.

This point requires more thought... I'll be back with more coherant thoughts...