MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR

  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

HR Morning

MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • Performance Management
  • HR Technology
  • More
    • Leadership & Strategy
    • Compensation
    • Staff Administration
    • Policy & Procedures
    • Wellness
    • Staff Departure
    • Employee Services
    • Work Location
    • HR Career & Self-Care
    • Health Care
    • Retirement Plans

Feds hold companies responsible for stolen data

Tim Gould
by Tim Gould
November 4, 2009
2 minute read
  • SHARE ON

The legal liability for getting hacked is real, as a few recent news stories demonstrate — and Congress is working on even tougher rules.
That puts a bigger security burden than ever on your company. Just promising to do better next time may not cut it.
Take these recent news stories:

  1. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued the biggest fine ever to a company whose records were stolen by a hacker. Data broker ChoicePoint was fined $275,000 for allowing two major data attacks, affecting more than 160,000 U.S. consumers. The attacks included the theft of social security numbers and other personal information.
  2. A federal judge shot down a recent offer by stockbroker TDAmritrade to settle claims based on a 2007 data breach that compromised names, addresses, phone numbers and trading information of potentially all of its more than 6 million retail and institutional customers. The solutions that the company had worked out (which involved having a third-party analytics firm discover if any identity theft had happened, plus an offer of free security software for customers) were rejected as “very temporary fixes.” The company will have to do far better, according to the judge.
  3. In Maine, a decision is pending from the state Supreme Court on whether companies can be charged by consumers and banks for the time and money involved in resolving problems and reissuing cards compromised by stolen data. Regional supermarket chain Hannaford Brothers had data about 4.2 million debit and credit card customers stolen.

As a Computerworld article dealing with the Maine case states:
“In most cases, courts have held that since consumers are compensated for any loss by the card-issuing bank they have little reason to seek other damages from the breached entity. They have also tended to reject the idea that consumers must be compensated for damages that they could suffer in the future as a result of a data breach.”
But that may be changing — whichever decision Maine’s high court makes is expected to influence judges in other jurisdictions. And, meanwhile, Congress is poised to pass Personal Data Privacy and Security Act, which would require notification of victims and hold companies liable for breaches (mirroring several state laws already on the books). The cost of inadequate data security may get a lot higher soon.

Get the latest from HRMorning in your inbox PLUS immediately access 10 FREE HR guides.

I WANT MY FREE GUIDES

Keep Up To Date with the Latest HR News

With HRMorning arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on labor laws, benefits, retention and onboarding strategies.

Sign up for a free HRMorning membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
HR Morning Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linked In
  • ABOUT HRMORNING
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • HR Technology
  • Performance Management
  • Leadership & Strategy
  • Compensation & Payroll
  • Policy & Culture
  • Staff Administration
  • Wellness & Safety
  • Staff Departure
  • Employee Services
  • Work Location
  • HR Career & Self-Care

HRMorning, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest HR and employment law news for HR professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, HRMorning delivers actionable insights, helping HR execs understand what HR trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2021 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

During your free trial, you can cancel at any time with a single click on your “Account” page.  It’s that easy.

Why do we need your credit card for a free trial?

We ask for your credit card to allow your subscription to continue should you decide to keep your membership beyond the free trial period.  This prevents any interruption of content access.

Your card will not be charged at any point during your 21 day free trial
and you may cancel at any time during your free trial.

preloader