Discussion about data theft and corporate irresponsibility

An unlucky slashdotter has started a discussion thread on data thefts and possible consumer recourse. Unfortunately, some of the advice involves burning buildings to the ground and moving to Nigeria, both of which may not be the most prudent course of action. In any event, check it out:

Slashdot Data Theft and Corporate Irresponsibility?

"Today, I received a letter from a student loan provider notifying me that my name and social security number had been stolen along with a contractor's computer. This makes -four- agencies that have lost my personal information, in the last year. Today's letter was the most disappointing yet: the company, Texas Guaranteed, did not offer any credit report monitoring like the previous three had. Their advice? Send a letter to the credit bureaus. Gee, thanks. Clearly, mass identity theft is completely out of hand and there doesn't seem to be any government regulation for handling these situations, nor does there seem to be any punitive action against businesses that lose customers' data. Do we, as consumers, have any recourse against these businesses?"

Thanks to Rob Hyndman for passing along the link.