Capital Corner: The nation’s capital is coming back to life

Data Security
The new House Republican majority is tackling the thorny issue of data/cybersecurity. House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) held a hearing aimed at examining consumer data privacy and breach notification frameworks February 8, with a bill expected to move later this month. Credit unions have waited a decade for action.

What’s in it? Draft legislation governs how financial institutions protect sensitive consumer data. Cybercrimes and lax merchant standards make this difficult. McHenry is looking at options that empower consumers to control use of their data is by ALL service providers, not just credit unions and banks.

The draft bill also creates a national data standard that preempts the patchwork quilt of state laws.

Does this solve the problem of allowing merchants to stand idly by and not help prevent ever-increasing data thefts? No. But it is a first step toward better protecting consumer information in this age of cybercrime.

 

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