Lawmaker Says Action Comes After High-Profile Security Breaches At Sony, Epsilon, Citigroup

WASHINGTON, DC— Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) today voted in favor of legislation that would strengthen current laws to protect consumers from data and identity theft.  The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, of which Lance is a member, passed the measure by voice vote.  The bill now moves to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for its consideration.

“Over the last few months we have seen a number of high profile data breach cases involving major corporations and millions of American consumers,” Lance said during the Committee’s consideration of the bill. “The cases of Sony, Epsilon, and Citigroup are only the most high profile cases of companies that were targeted by hostile hackers; unfortunately there are many others that indicate to me that some form of national standards is necessary so that consumers are promptly notified when their personal information has been jeopardized.”

“The Secure and Fortify Electronic Data Act”, or “SAFE Data Act,” would require greater protection of sensitive consumer data and timely notification in case of breach.  According to the Federal Trade Commission, nearly 10 million Americans fall victim to identity theft each year. A recent report from the I.D. Theft Center and other sources says one in 10 Americans have had their identities stolen at some point in their life. 

Lance noted that the cost of identity theft to U.S. businesses is estimated to be more than $50 billion a year. Nearly two million American households each year have their bank accounts, credit cards or debit cards compromised. The average amount stolen from each American consumer amounts to nearly $5,000 and the out-of-pocket cost for victims to resolve identity theft damage ranges from $850 to nearly $1,500.

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