Perhaps this enormous and dangerous breach of data will spur Congress to take long-awaited action

William Snyder, a professor at Syracuse University College of Law and an expert on issues of cybersecurity, offers insight on the recent Equifax data breach.

“For many years, Congress has considered data breach notification legislation to regulate who must be notified, when, in what matter, and by whom after specific types of data are hacked or stolen.  In 2009, the Obama administration posted a draft federal data breach bill on the White House website.  Congress has not passed any data breach legislation.  In the meantime, more than forty states have passed such laws,” said Prof. Snyder.

“Here in New York, both the State and New York City have data breach notification laws, which are somewhat inconsistent. This patchwork approach fails to protect consumers or the economy, and it makes it very difficult for organizations conducting business or other activities in cyberspace to comply with the law,” says Snyder.

“At the federal level, the Securities and Exchange Commission has imposed data breach notification requirements for publicly traded corporations within their jurisdiction, and the Federal Trade Commission has attempted to impose liability upon a few dozen companies for failure to adequately protect data, but Congress has not passed any national data breach notification law.  Perhaps this enormous and dangerous breach of the confidentiality and integrity of data at Equifax will spur Congress to take long-awaited action,” says Snyder.

Prof. Snyder is available to speak to speak to media via phone, email, Skype, or LTN studio. Please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, director of news and PR at Syracuse University, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu or 315.443.1897 or Keith Kobland, media manager at Syracuse University, at kkobland@syr.edu or 315.443.9038.