New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman introduced a new bill to provide protection for New Yorkers against data breaches.
The initiative comes following the Equifax massive data breach that compromised the personal information of 145.5 million U.S. consumers. The security breach also put at risk the personal data of 15.2 million U.K. consumers and up to 100,000 Canadians.
The Equifax data breach impacted more than 8 million New Yorkers. His office launched an investigation into the hacking incident and ordered the company to address several issues.
In a statement, AG Schneiderman noted a 60% increase in data breaches affecting New Yorkers. Last year alone, his office receives 1,300 data breach notifications.
According to Schneiderman, “It’s clear that New York’s data security laws are weak and outdated. It’s time for Albany to act” to ensure that New Yorkers will no longer become victims of criminal hackers and weak data security measures.
SHIELD ACT will make New York a leader in data security
This week, the attorney general introduced Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act) as a program bill. State Senator David Carlucci and Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh sponsored the legislation.
