Senators Introduce Data Security and Breach Notification Act

Senators Introduce Data Security and Breach Notification Act

The bill comes in the wake of news that Uber handled a breach affecting as many as 57 million consumers by paying the hackers $100,000 in exchange for their silence.

Three Democrat Senators introduced last Thursday the Data Security and Breach Notification Act, which would require companies to report data breaches within 30 days. The bill comes in the wake of news that Uber handled a breach affecting as many as 57 million consumers by paying the hackers $100,000 in exchange for their silence.

The Data Security and Breach Notification Act seeks to implement nationwide breach notification standards to replace the varying state standards on data breach notification. Currently, 48 states have laws that require companies to report hacks.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, as well as senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. Nelson first introduced the Data Security and Breach Notification Act in 2015 and also introduced a different version last year.

 “We need a strong federal law in place to hold companies truly accountable for failing to safeguard data or inform consumers when that information has been stolen by hackers,” Nelson said in a statement.

If signed into law, the bill as is would impose new penalties on anyone convicted of “intentionally and willfully” concealing a data breach. Consequences could include fines and up to 5 years of imprisonment—or both.

The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to develop new security standards to aid businesses that handle consumers’ personal and financial data. It would also task the FTC with providing “incentives” to business who adopt technology that makes consumer data “unusable or unreadable if stolen” in a data breach.

The act would also require companies to create procedures for assessing “reasonably foreseeable” vulnerabilities in their systems and implement processes for either destroying sensitive consumer data no longer in use or making it “permanently unreadable or indecipherable.”

The legislation does have a limited scope—for example, if only a last name, address or phone number is leaked in a breach, the law would not apply. In addition, any incident in which an organization “reasonably concludes that there is no reasonable risk of identity theft, fraud, or other unlawful conduct” is considered exempt.

The act is not the only bill related to data breaches to be introduced this year. After news of the Equifax breach broke in September, Blumenthal introduced The Data Broker Accountability and Transparency Act, which would require data brokers to create privacy and security measures for notifying the public after a breach.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Freedom of Choice

    In today's security landscape, we are witnessing a fundamental transformation in how organizations manage digital evidence. Law enforcement agencies, campus security teams, and large facility operators face increasingly complex challenges with expanding video data, tightening budget constraints and inflexible systems that limit innovation. Read Now

  • Accelerating a Pathway

    There is a new trend touting the transformational qualities of AI’s ability to deliver actionable data and predictive analysis that in many instances, seems to be a bit of an overpromise. The reality is that very few solutions in the cyber-physical security (CPS) space live up to this high expectation with the one exception being the new generation of Physical Identity and Access Management (PIAM) software – herein recategorized as PIAM+. Read Now

  • Protecting Your Zones

    It is game day. You can feel the crowd’s energy. In the parking lot. At the gate. In the stadium. On the concourse. Fans are eager to party. Food and merchandise vendors ready themselves for the rush. Read Now

  • Street Smarts

    The ongoing acceptance of AI and advanced data analytics has allowed surveillance camera technology to shift from being a tactical tool to a strategic business solution. Combining traditional surveillance technology with AI-based data-driven insights can streamline transportation systems, enhance traffic management, improve situational awareness, optimize resource allocation and streamline emergency response procedures. Read Now

  • The Progress of Biometrics

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.