2014 wasn’t a great year for cybersecurity. Some of the biggest retailers in the country were hit with cyberattacks that left data of millions of Americans compromised, data included social security numbers, credit and debit card information apart from addresses and phone numbers. President Obama today proposed three new laws that are aimed at protecting Americans’ data, and to bind companies that suffer data breaches to disclose information within 30 days.
The proposed laws have been announced ahead of the president’s State of the Union address scheduled for later this month. A new federal standard called Personal Data Notification and Protection Act was announced by the president today which will make it compulsory for companies to reveal to customers within 30 days once a data breach has been discovered.
President Obama also mentioned during his speech the plan to resurrect the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. This plan was first announced towards the end of his first term in office. He has asked Congress to turn it into law which would give people who use the internet right to control what data is collected and how that data is shared.
The Student Data Privacy Act was also proposed today and is aimed at stopping companies from making money on data collected from students in schools. This comes at a time when tech companies are increasingly focusing their efforts on the education sector. Some big companies have already pledged to keep student data safe, including the likes of Microsoft and Apple.
White House officials do not expect “fierce opposition” to these new proposals, according to The New York Times, even though privacy and consumer groups haven’t been brought up to speed.
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