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Congress pushed to address data security

July 6, 2006

Digital Transactions: With the loss or theft of computerized personal information making headlines almost daily, lawmakers are scrambling for solutions for what is shaping up to be the 21st century's hottest non-violent crime. (Read also, Congress breathes new life into data-security concerns.) More than a dozen bills that would put new requirements on banks and other entities with access to sensitive consumer information have been introduced. The most recent is the Data Security Act of 2006, introduced this week by Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah) and Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), which would set notification standards for when security breaches occur and uniform national standards for securely storing electronic and paper-based data. But devising workable security standards and a practical policy for when and how consumers should be notified of a breach is no easy task.

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