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News of proposed US Federal cyber security legislation is already prompting reactions, some for and some against. Specifically, a federal data breach notification rule would impact all organizations, including managed service providers. So, let's examine more closely what a federal data breach notification law might look like and the opportunities and challenges it could create for MSPs.
What is Data Breach Notification?
Simply put, data breach notification laws deal with how and when organizations must disclose if a data breach took place. The laws typically deal with the types of data covered and the timing of the notifications. Currently 47 states and a few US territories have some form of data breach notification law. There are also various forms of international data breach laws as well.
The benefits of such laws should be obvious. If your personally identifiable information (social security, bank accounts, credit cards, health information) is accessed by an unauthorized third party, you would definitely want to know about it. Knowing your data has been compromised is the first step in protecting yourself after a breach has occurred.
There are, of course, exemptions to these notification triggers. For example, if your data was encrypted when it was accessed, there may not be as pressing a need to notify users since encrypted data is more difficult (if impossible) to access.