From EPIC.org: With ID theft rapidly increasing in the United States, EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg urged a Congressional Committee to address the root causes of the problem. In a testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Mr. Rotenberg said that the government typically acts only after the crime has occurred and warned that the problem…
Category: Federal
House committee approves Data Accountability and Trust Act
The Credit Union National Association reports: H.R. 2221, the Data Accountability and Trust Act, passed the House subcommittee on commerce, trade, and consumer protection by a voice vote during a Wednesday markup session. The bill, which was introduced by House Subcommittee Chair Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), would require businesses to notify affected customers when outside…
OIS Commentary: And some walls will come tumbling down
One of yesterday’s posts on PHIprivacy.net reports a data breach involving Kelsey-Seybold Clinic that has not been reported in the mainstream media. I contacted Kelsey-Seybold after a site visitor alerted me to the breach. The report is frustratingly short on details, though, because Kelsey-Seybold could — and did — simply ignore questions it did not…
Protecting Electronic Data
From a New York Times editorial: In 2005, ChoicePoint, a data broker, gave access to personal information about more than 140,000 people to criminals posing as businesspeople. Since that widely publicized security breach, many states have passed laws protecting consumer information, but Congress still has not come through. Now, the House is considering a bill…
Security groups cautious about data security and file sharing bills
Gautham Nagesh of Nextgov reports on testimony to Congress concerning two bills in the current session: H.R.2221 (Data Accountability and Trust Act) and H.R. 1319 (Informed P2P User Act). Some of the concerns raised about H.R. 2221: According to David Sohn, senior policy counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, most states have already…
FTC Will Grant Three-Month Delay of Enforcement of ‘Red Flags’ Rule Requiring Creditors and Financial Institutions to Adopt Identity Theft Prevention Programs
From the FTC’s press release: The Federal Trade Commission will delay enforcement of the new “Red Flags Rule” until August 1, 2009, to give creditors and financial institutions more time to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs. For entities that have a low risk of identity theft, such as businesses that know their…