Banks v. Retailers MMA Cage Fight

Where does the buck stop in data security regulation? Is it at the financial institution or at the retailer who garners the class action lawsuit? 

Retailers have said they should not be treated like banks, which are heavily regulated. Information Intelligence

The Credit Union National Association,  Financial Services Roundtable, the Consumer Bankers Association and four other financial trade associations sent a letter to Congress on Friday asking to have new rules imposed upon retailers that handle customers’ personal data.  This could impose fines of up to $1 Million per day for retailers.   The Hill 

 

 

Lege Trend: Techies Want Data Security Supremacy & Tax Relief

Georgia techies are focused on tax incentives and making Georgia the Supreme Leader in Data Security. The economic incentive proposals:

  • Extend Angel Investor Tax Credit
  • Film Tax Credits
  • “triple the qualifying period on a sales-tax exemption for companies buying more than $15 million in computer equipment, from one year to three”
    • This tax credit has made Georgia a hot spot for data centers
  • Create a committee to make Georgia a leader in data and cyber security
    • Georgia is home to IBM and to U.S. military’s cyber command, which they believe make Georgia the perfect leader in data and cyber security

Athens Online 

States Ramp Up Data Security Laws. Propelled By Healthcare Data Breaches.

Add New York to the growing list of states ramping up data security laws. NY will consider legislation similar to OR and IN that would provide a “safe harbor rule for companies that implement specific data security plans and standards that officials say would minimize the chance of a breach. “

New York’s study of data breaches found that health care was the largest source for data breaches.  Healthcare Dive

Data Breach Bill Filings: Biometrics, FingerPrints, Health Care Data.

Data Protection Policy Trends Emerging….

HB 349 by Kleinschmidt calls for limiting collection of fingerprint in criminal history checks.

HB 764 by Susan King calls for DSHS to limit the information stored,require notification upon a breach and prohibit the sale of information. 

HB 852 by Sanford calls for a study on the collection and storage of biometric identifiers. 

 

 

Data Breach Hearings In Congress: To Pre-empt State Law or Not to Pre-Empt?

Federal law or state law? Which should have the final say over a data breach at a local business? Or, if a data breach affects a nationwide retailer? The State Of Union included a call for federal data breach laws, pre-empting state law. 

Texas Congressman Michael Burgess agrees with federal pre-emption.

He will chair the hearing on Tuesday January 27th, and said, “We need a plan in place that will help prevent data from being stolen in the first place, and will also alleviate consequences for consumers if hackers are successful.”   The Hill 

 

Health Care Data Breaches- Hackers or Human Errors?

Since 2009, health care data breach statistics are:

  • 8%  involve hacking
  • 40.9 million individuals’ records have been exposed
    • Of the individual records, 19%, were blamed on hackers
      • This includes a hack, allegedly by Chinese hackers ,to the health care data at Community Health System in Franklin, TN, resulting in stolen personally identifiable information on 4.5 million individuals.

President Obama’s federal data breach proposal would pre-empt state law, but it EXEMPTS health care and banking, which each have their own data breach standards. Modern Healthcare

2 Experts: Federal Data Security Standards Loosen State Standards. Less Protection for Individuals.

2 Privacy Experts say Federal Standards Don’t help individuals:

  • Alvaro Bedoya, the executive director of the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown University Law Center, says consumers benefit from state laws which are stronger than national proposals. 
  • Software & Information Industry Association says individuals will not be safer with federal protections.

National Review

States are Passing Data Security Bills. See Where State Laws Stand. Business Interests Beware.

Baker Hostetler offers an absolutely fantastic chart of what every state is doing on data security.

Data privacy experts say state laws go further to protect your information if its the subject of a leak, breach or hack. Tort reform types point to data breaches being a new bevy of class action lawsuits.  Baker Hostetler