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March 22, 2021 • Issue 21:03:02

Data privacy protection

takes center stage

Legislators taking action
Lawmakers and regulators have been spurred to act.
"There are regulations and requirements in every one of
the 50 states, plus more than 20 federal regulations," said
Ross Federgreen, president of CSR Privacy Solutions. These
rules impose requirements on the collection, management
and destruction of personal information, like names, Social
Security numbers, credit and debit card numbers, and bank
accounts. "The regulations have significant teeth, and fines
are being levied on an increasing basis against companies
large and small found to be in violation," he added.

In 2018, California adopted what has been characterized as
the most comprehensive sets of data privacy regulations in
the United States. The law firm BakerHostetler stated in a
report that the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA),
By Patti Murphy is noteworthy in that "the definition of personal informa-
tion under the new law is very broad and includes data
e live in an interconnected world where one elements not previously considered personal information
breach of fraud protections or data security under any U.S. law."
protocols can have far-reaching consequenc-
W es for individuals and businesses alike. ISOs The CCPA, which took effect in 2020, requires companies to
and merchant level salespeople (MLSs) ignore this new adopt safeguards that protect the security, confidentiality
reality at their peril. There's an upside, however: an oppor- and integrity of personal information they collect on con-
tunity to boost revenues by helping clients stay on the right sumers in the state. It doesn't matter where a company is
side of the law. headquartered; if it does business with consumers in Cali-
fornia, or simply targets customers in the state, CCPA re-
"It's important to have at least some basic knowledge of quirements apply.
what the law requires and where to go to get some help
if that's needed, because it's going to impact your life one
way or another," said Mark Dunn, president of Field Guide
Enterprises.
Take data privacy, for example. It's a topic on the minds of Contributed articles inside by:
many as data breaches continue to be uncovered almost
daily. In 2019, nearly 1,500 data breaches resulted in expo- Marc Beauchamp ..................................................................................24
sure of 164.7 million sensitive records, according to Statista.
The Ponemon Institute estimated the average data breach Elaina Smith ............................................................................................26
costs businesses $150 for each record compromised. And
a survey by security firm RSA revealed that 64 percent of TOC on page 3
Americans blame hacked businesses, not hackers, when
their personal information is breached.

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