Retailers are skirting data security issue, NAFCU, trades tell Congress

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions writes:

Retailer groups’ data security arguments are “inaccurate and misleading” given their members “are not covered by any federal laws or regulations that require them to protect data and notify consumers when it is breached,” NAFCU and six other financial trades told House and Senate leaders Wednesday.

“National consumer notification alone – as advocated by [a] November 6th letter [from retailers] – will not solve this problem,” the groups said jointly in a letter sent Wednesday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “It is only when coupled with the development of strong internal data protection standards and robust oversight that the retail community will find itself in a better position to protect consumers and their confidential personal financial information from criminal abuse.”