The FTC’s Safeguards Rule compliance deadline is right around the corner – June 9. The Safeguards Rule requires non-banking financial institutions to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive security program to keep their customers’ information safe (we discussed the Safeguards Rule in a previous blog post here).
Continue Reading Reminder: The FTC “Safeguards Rule” Compliance Date is June 9
On April 4, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra delivered remarks at the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Global Policy Summit on the importance of reigning in repeat violators of consumer finance and privacy laws. According to the Director, the CFPB is to enhance penalties against repeat offenders of consumer protection laws. Such penalties could involve a broader range of agency remedies, including naming executives in enforcement actions and placing meaningful limitations on future business practices, in addition to simple fines.
Continue Reading CFPB Director Elevates Priorities for Data Privacy & Repeat Offenders
On January 12, the CFPB released a report that identified an uptick in identity theft reported by servicemembers. The report found that military consumers (defined as active duty servicemembers, veterans, and military family members) reported almost 50,000 cases of identity theft to the FTC in 2021. Additionally, military consumer complaints to the CFPB for debts resulting from identity theft increased from about 200 in 2014 to more than 1,000 in 2022.
Continue Reading CFPB Report: ID Theft Among Servicemembers Increasing
Recently, the CFPB released an outline of proposed measures related to the Bureau’s Dodd-Frank Section 1033 rulemaking efforts that would allow consumers the rights over their personal financial data. The outline discusses proposed regulations that would require covered data providers to make consumer financial data available directly to a consumer and to any third parties authorized by the consumer. Under these proposed regulations, consumers would be able to easily switch financial providers and transfer their account history to a new provider. In a high-level summary of the proposed regulations, the CFPB discusses the regulatory provisions it is considering proposing, including the following:
Continue Reading CFPB Issues Proposed Rulemaking on Data Access and Portability
The FTC recently published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to discuss harms associated with the collection, processing, and selling of personal data. The FTC is inviting public comments on whether it should implement new rules on how companies:
Continue Reading FTC Signals Focus on Increasing Protections Around Personal Data
On July 29, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) released Draft Amendments to its Part 500 Cybersecurity Rules that would impose new obligations on financial institutions on reporting, governance, testing, access management, risk assessment, business continuity plans, among others.
Continue Reading New York Proposes Cybersecurity Rules for Financial Institutions
On August 11, the CFPB published a circular clarifying liability under consumer financial protection law for bank and nonbank financial companies that fail to safeguard consumer data. The circular describes how firms may be violating the CFPA’s prohibition on unfair acts or practices with respect to the handling of consumer data by not implementing adequate measures to protect against data security incidents. These data security incidents may lead to significant harm to a few consumers—who, for example, become victims of targeted identify theft after a breach—or may lead to harm of many consumers in the event of large scale, customer-base-wide breaches. The circular includes specific examples for reference.
Continue Reading CFPB Circular: Safeguard Consumer Data or Face Liability
Recently, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) published its annual Cybersecurity and Financial System Resilience report describing measures it has taken to strengthen cybersecurity in the financial services sector, including the supervision and regulation of financial institutions and third-party service providers.
Continue Reading Fed Reports on Cybersecurity and Financial System Resilience
A few months ago, we published a post about the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve Board’s final rule to improve information sharing about cyber incidents that may affect the U.S. banking system. Under the final rule, banks and their service providers must notify their primary federal regulators within 36 hours after a notification incident has occurred. In the latest update from the regulators, they remind banks that starting May 1, banks must notify their primary federal regulators about computer-security incidents. Below is the contact information and the process for contacting each regulator:
Continue Reading May 1st is Around the Corner: Bank Computer-Security Incident Notification Requirements
On January 7, the FTC announced that a California-based lead generator agreed to settle with the FTC for $1.5 million to resolve allegations that through a number of its subsidiaries, the company induced consumers into sharing their personal financial information and then sold that information from these loan applications as “leads” to a variety of entities without regard to whether these entities are lenders or use the consumers’ data to make loans.
Continue Reading Lead Generator Settles with FTC Over Alleged FCRA and FTC Act Violations
Last month, the FDIC, Federal Reserve Board, and the OCC announced a final rule to improve information sharing about cyber incidents that may affect the U.S. banking system. Among other things, the final rule requires banking organizations to inform their primary federal regulator no later than 36 hours after a determination that a “computer-security incident” has reached the level of a “notification incident.” The final rule notes that notification is required for incidents that have affected, in certain circumstances:
Continue Reading Federal Bank Regulators Approve New Cybersecurity Incident Notification Rule