Fergie's Tech Blog

Bill Puts Law Enforcement First in Data Leak Notification

Anne Broache writes on C|Net News:

A new proposal in Congress would force anyone who possesses electronic personal data to report "major" security breaches to federal authorities before alerting consumers--or face hefty fines and even imprisonment.

The 11-page House of Representatives bill aims to deter identity thieves and dismantle cybercrime operations, such as phishing scams, that swipe personal information. It was introduced this week by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner and backed by three Republicans and one Democrat.

The Republican-backed bill would require "whoever owns or possesses data in electronic form" that contains personally identifiable information--such as a person's name, Social Security number or date of birth--to inform the U.S. Secret Service or the FBI within two weeks of discovering a "major breach."

posted by Fergie @ 5/11/2006 11:39:00 AM