Insights Today | June 10th, 2026
Recent Identity Report Highlights The Human Side Of Small Business Security
The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) is a nonprofit organization that helps individuals and businesses understand, respond to, and recover from identity-related crimes. Through victim assistance, education, and research, the organization has a unique view into how identity theft, fraud, scams, account takeover, and device compromise affect people in real situations. In its 2026 Trends in Identity Report, the ITRC uses those experiences to highlight how identity crimes are becoming more layered, harder to detect, and more difficult to resolve.
The signal for small business leaders is that employee identity issues do not always remain personal issues. The same accounts, devices, and online behaviors people use in their personal lives often connect to the systems they use at work. A compromised device, stolen credential, or successful scam can create exposure that extends beyond the individual and into the business. While identity theft is often viewed as a personal problem, the effects can quickly reach payroll systems, email accounts, financial platforms, customer information, and other business operations.
This is also a reminder to think about how employee identity-related incidents are handled when they occur. If a small business employee experiences identity theft, additional monitoring of business accounts, access activity, financial transactions, and administrative privileges may be appropriate until the situation is understood. Businesses can also reduce exposure by encouraging employees to report identity-related concerns early and by having a clear process for reviewing potential impacts to business systems. The sooner a connection is identified, the easier it is to limit the effects on both the employee and the business.
Shawn Skillman
Founder and Principal Advisor
ExaQuent