Equifax’s data breach has drawn fresh attention to a lack of uniform federal data security standards. A wide variety of associations have called on Congress to establish standard requirements for breach disclosure and data security. In the wake of the enormous Equifax data breach, which first came to light last week, a variety of associations are calling for stronger federal … Read More

Stop me you think you’ve heard this one before. Following this weeks’ news of the massive data breach at Equifax, credit union trade associations are once again calling for a congressional solution to a problem that has plagued consumers for years. “The massive breach at Equifax, and the report that they had known about it for weeks without notifying consumers, … Read More

Last week U.S. House Small Business Committee held the second part of a hearing entitled “The EMV Deadline and What it Means for Small Businesses,” which was supposed to address payment security in the United States. Instead of providing Congress with useful information about how to help small businesses protect consumer data, large national retail associations used the hearing to … Read More

In today’s fast-paced, digital age, when smartphones are “outdated” six months after they’re released, nothing stays the same for long, and that includes payments fraud. Fraudsters have been busy adopting new techniques and adapting old ones to take advantage of weaknesses in payments systems. Credit cards and debit cards have become especially vulnerable. While checks remained the top payments vehicle … Read More

With data breaches continuing to happen left and right, we need a bill that would establish a national data security standard. Thankfully, that’s exactly what Reps. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) and John Carney’s (D-Del.) legislation, the House Data Security Act of 2015, would do. H.R. 2205 would require all entities that deal with consumers’ personal information to develop and maintain an … Read More

WASHINGTON – Maine’s two U.S. senators are calling for strong cyber-security legislation in the wake of the latest data breach affecting at least four million federal workers. But at least one Internet technology expert says that, even if lawmakers decide to take action, preventing a cyber attack is easier said than done. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus … Read More

The Data Security Act of 2015 (H.R. 2205 and S. 961, introduced by Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) and Representative John Carney (D-DE), and Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), respectively) would ensure that all entities that handle sensitive financial and personal information have common-sense safeguards and processes in place to protect data and provide notice … Read More