CSO Maps State-By-State Data Breach Disclosure Laws

CSO has produced an interactive U.S. map that shows what’s required of companies that suffer a data breach in the 38 states that care enough about consumer rights to have passed disclosure laws. Most are modeled after California’s strict SB1386 anti-ID theft law, but now you can tell at a glance what your state is doing about the issue—and in most cases you can click on the icon in the pop-up info box to see a copy of the actual law.

In a related article, CSO talks to a data breach disclosure law expert about what’s going on at the federal level, where there are at least eight different proposed laws bouncing around D.C.

Forsheit: I really can’t tell you why it’s taking so long. There was a sense with the new Congress that there was a greater likelihood something would pass. It’s just not clear why it hasn’t. Clearly people are concerned with ID theft. It’s mostly a bipartisan issue, so you see a lot of consensus. There are some disputed aspects, like whether notification should be mandated–as it is in many states–with any unauthorized acquisition [of data], as opposed to there being a higher threshold trigger. But those can be worked out.

SO: What about the 11 states that don’t yet have laws? Are they waiting for a federal bill?

Forsheit: In some of those states, there have been proposals that just haven’t made their way through. If we don’t see federal legislation soon, those remaining states will likely enact some law

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“Data Breach Notification Laws, State By State” [CSOonline]

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“CSO Disclosure Series | What’s Next with Disclosure Legislation?” [CSOonline]

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