American Bankers Association Argues for “Strong, Consistent” National Data Protection Standard

Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security Congress ABA

In a May 8 letter to Congress, the American Bankers Association (ABA) called on Congress to pursue national data protection standards for companies that handle consumers’ sensitive financial data. The letter notes that the financial sector has an excellent track record in protecting consumer data, citing data from the Identity Theft Resource Center indicating that only 0.2% of records exposed in data breaches were attributable to the financial sector, as opposed to the 81.3% of records exposed at businesses included retail, adding that the industry is highly motivated and under constant oversight to ensure that Federal privacy and data protection laws such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act are followed.  On the other hand, the ABA notes, other industries are not required to protect consumer data under Federal law and have strongly opposed legislation that would add such requirements. The association concludes that a “strong, consistent national standard for fighting data breaches” is necessary to create a “security infrastructure that brings banks, payment networks and retailers together to safeguard sensitive financial data.”