Today the House Financial Services Committee (HSFC) proposed new data breach legislation. This call for national data security solutions comes just two days after CUNA witness, Kim Sponem, advocated for cost solutions as the frequency for credit unions continues to rise.
“We thank Chairman Luetkemeyer, Ranking Member Clay and Members of the Subcommittee for their efforts to help advance data breach legislation,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “It is critical that we enhance security to reduce the impact that merchant data breaches have on credit unions, other financial institutions and consumers. We are pleased to see the committee is aligned on creating a strong national data security standard.”
During Wednesday's hearing Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) also echoed his concern for rising merchant data breaches. "So many credit unions and community banks in my district have told me that, of all the regulatory pressures they face, all the compliance costs, this is one of the top priorities in terms of costs.”
The draft bill contains the following CUNA-backed principles:
- A flexible, scalable data protection standard;
- A notification regime requiring timely notice to impacted consumers, law enforcement and applicable regulators;
- Enforcement of the new national standard by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general;
- Does not exclude a private right of action; and,
- Clear preemption of the existing patchwork of often conflicting and contradictory state laws.