Kentucky Enacts Data Breach Notice Law

Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security

On April 10, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear signed into law HB 232 to establish a data breach notice requirement. The new law requires any person or business that operates in the state to provide written or electronic notice to affected state residents of any breach of a security system that exposes unencrypted personally identifiable information. The law requires notification “in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay” upon discovery or notification of a breach, and permits certain substitute forms of notice if the person or business subject to the breach demonstrates that the notice exceeds certain cost or scope thresholds. The law does not require separate notice to the state attorney general, nor does it apply to entities subject to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act or HIPAA. The bill takes effect July 14, 2014. Kentucky’s adoption of a data breach notice law leaves only three states—Alabama, New Mexico, and South Dakota—without such a statutory requirement.