IDENTIFYING A DATA BREACH ISN’T ROCKET SCIENCE

One of the major problems with congressional leaders today is that they don’t understand the proliferation of the sale of consumer personal data, therefore are incapable of putting together a decent data protection bill. The burgeoning amount of private information has confused both Congress and the individuals whose information is being collected. Ultimately, the confusion has been passed on to defining just what a data breach is. Most of the current data bills allow the data broker to identify “significant risk” to the consumer, which is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop. Congress is busy now promising more legislation, but Roy Mark, in his piece “When Is a Breach a Breach?” says this is “…so much hot air.” Based on experience, I’d have to agree. Consumer groups say it’s simple: You expose it, you inform the consumer. Mark, however, doesn’t think that will happen. Fortunately, I still hold out hope the American public is eventually going to wake up.