New law makes firms liable for hacked personal information
Pennsylvania citizens should no longer have to wonder if their personal information has been compromised by hackers – should being the operative word.
Shortly before Christmas, Gov. Rendell signed into law a computer-breach-disclosure bill requiring companies and other groups to tell customers when computer systems have been hacked.
“Almost all financial, retail, government and medical-service transactions are computerized,” said State Sen. Rob Wonderling (R., Montgomery), the bill’s main sponsor.
If an organization that has been e-sacked fails to contact the Pennsylvania citizens in its database, the law lets those individuals recover any actual damages. For instance, if a cybercriminal linked a person’s name and Social Security number to obtain credit and go spend it wildly, the company that surrendered the information would have to pay.
Of course, to enforce the law, Pennsylvania must compel companies to fess up to breaches in the first place.
Source: Philly.com.
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