Lawmakers target cyber identity theft (phillyBurbs.com)
Lawmakers target cyber identity theft (phillyBurbs.com): "Lawmakers target cyber identity theft
By ALISON HAWKES
The Intelligencer
HARRISBURG - Saying they want to protect consumers from some of the most antagonizing aspects of cyber space, Pennsylvania senators moved forward on a package of bills to tighten up the widespread use of Social Security numbers and make it a crime to retrieve personal information about a user over the Internet without consent.
Proposed legislation, which moved out of the Senate Communication and High Technology Committee on Monday, attempts to tackle the growing problem of identity theft in light of a number of high-profile security breaches this year. As many as 9.6 million people nationwide in the last six months may have had their personal information stolen from data collected by major companies because of hackers and stolen or missing laptops, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San-Diego based consumer advocacy group.
With major breaches affecting Pennsylvania consumers, lawmakers are proposing to go the way a few other states have done and require any company affected by a security breach that includes personal information to notify their consumers.
Additionally, lawmakers are seeking to criminalize one of the tools identity thieves habitually use to gather financial and personal information over the Internet. Spyware - a computer program that is covertly installed over the Internet to track keystrokes and watch e-mail, passwords and other activities of users - would be illegal if installed without a user's authorization and punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a $3 million fine. Users could also sue in civil court, even if the company is located out of state.
Another bill would regulate the use of Social Security numbers by making it illegal to use them on cards required for access to products and services, any public posting of the numbers by companies or public agencies, and printing numbers on materials sent by mail, unless the law requires it. The punishment for doing so would be a fine of no more than $500."
By ALISON HAWKES
The Intelligencer
HARRISBURG - Saying they want to protect consumers from some of the most antagonizing aspects of cyber space, Pennsylvania senators moved forward on a package of bills to tighten up the widespread use of Social Security numbers and make it a crime to retrieve personal information about a user over the Internet without consent.
Proposed legislation, which moved out of the Senate Communication and High Technology Committee on Monday, attempts to tackle the growing problem of identity theft in light of a number of high-profile security breaches this year. As many as 9.6 million people nationwide in the last six months may have had their personal information stolen from data collected by major companies because of hackers and stolen or missing laptops, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San-Diego based consumer advocacy group.
With major breaches affecting Pennsylvania consumers, lawmakers are proposing to go the way a few other states have done and require any company affected by a security breach that includes personal information to notify their consumers.
Additionally, lawmakers are seeking to criminalize one of the tools identity thieves habitually use to gather financial and personal information over the Internet. Spyware - a computer program that is covertly installed over the Internet to track keystrokes and watch e-mail, passwords and other activities of users - would be illegal if installed without a user's authorization and punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a $3 million fine. Users could also sue in civil court, even if the company is located out of state.
Another bill would regulate the use of Social Security numbers by making it illegal to use them on cards required for access to products and services, any public posting of the numbers by companies or public agencies, and printing numbers on materials sent by mail, unless the law requires it. The punishment for doing so would be a fine of no more than $500."
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