Corporate disclosures of data breaches involving U.S. consumers’ personal information may fall by 50 percent under legislation before Congress. House and Senate lawmakers have introduced at least five data-security bills this year requiring businesses to notify customers of intrusions if there is a “reasonable risk” that personal data including credit-card and Social Security numbers may…
Category: Legislation
Shortened Breach Disclosure Periods Could Hurt Consumers
Ericka Chickowski writes: As the SAFE Data Act data breach law made its way to the House Energy and Commerce Committee after passing through the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade last week, security experts are wondering at the wisdom of a national data breach law that requires notification within 48 hours of a breach’s…
UK: ICO calls for prison sentences for use of stolen data
Warwick Ashford reports: The UK should introduce prison sentences for using stolen personal data, says Information Commissioner Christopher Graham. He is calling for an effective deterrent to the “routine trashing of individuals’ rights” under the Data Protection Act, according to according to Bloomberg. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) proposed a two-year prison term in 2006 after investigating the sale of stolen…
Senate wades into effort to prevent data breaches
Josh Smith reports: Protecting personal information is all the rage on Capitol Hill these days, with two new data-breach bills introduced on Thursday in the Senate. Sens. Thomas Carper, D-Del., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., introduced legislation designed to prevent identity theft and account fraud. The bill, tentatively named the Data Security Act of 2011, would…
Without proper laws governing public disclosure of data security hacks, Canadians remain at risk.
Lawyer Jonathan Penney writes: Another day, another hack. Apple, Sony, Citigroup, and Lockheed Martin are just some of the big-name companies afflicted by recent cyber-security breaches. Canada has not been spared. Beyond the attacks on the federal Treasury and Finance Departments, Sony, Husky Energy, and Honda have all had Canadian branches or units compromised in…
The SAFE Data Act: An admirable attempt that needs expansion
Cross-posted from PogoWasRight.org: Some of the controversy yesterday over The SAFE Data Act, introduced by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, concerns the limited definition of “personal information” in terms of what would trigger a breach disclosure and notification. Although some of the arguments appeared to follow partisan lines, the issue is not a partisan one, so…