OLYMPIA, Wash.-A new law signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire will encourage financial institutions to take extraordinary measures to protect consumers from identity theft and financial fraud, according to the Washington CU League.
WCUL said HB 1149 removes the financial burden of reissuing compromised cards and accounts from CUs and banks affected by large-scale data breaches and encourages them to actively intervene on behalf of consumers. It also encourages businesses conducting credit and debit transactions to be careful with consumer data.
"Washington credit unions have spent millions of dollars cleaning up the mess left by merchants and data processors when large-scale data compromises occur," said Washington CU League CEO John Annaloro. "This new law thoughtfully addresses that responsibility by placing recovery costs back on the negligent party, and is likely a national model for state data breach legislation."
