ICI Supports Financial Data Protection LegislationWashington, DC, November 1, 2005 - The Institute supports legislation recently introduced in the House that would provide significant protection to sensitive financial consumer data. Background
Last month, several members of Congress introduced H.R. 3997, the Financial Data Protection Act of 2005, which, among other things, would: - prevent breaches of data by creating a uniform national security standard that requires businesses to protect any sensitive consumer financial account or identity information they may possess;
- require that organizations notify law enforcement when they discover a data security breaches involving sensitive financial information; and
- require organizations to notify their customers when a security breach investigation concludes that the information is likely to be misused.
ICI Position
In a recent letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley, the Institute expressed support for H.R. 3997, noting in particular the benefits of implementing a uniform national standard on financial data confidentiality. ICI states that having a uniform national standard will serve consumers because it eliminates disparate treatment of consumers based upon their state of residence. The legislation also will impose continuing requirements on businesses to preserve the confidentiality of data about consumers and protect such data from unauthorized use. In the event such data is compromised, H.R. 3997 would ensure that consumers are provided notice of the compromise and advised how to protect themselves. Related Links
Additional information about the industry's support for measures to preserve customers' confidentiality is available on this website.
|
