NAFCU Asks Congress for new Regulatory Oversight of Data Security

WASHINGTON – A representative of NAFCU is expected this morning to ask Congress to create a new data security regulatory scheme for merchants and others entities–like credit unions and banks--not already covered by federal banking laws. John Milazzo, president of Campus FCU and a NAFCU director, is expected to call on lawmakers during a hearing of the House Small Business Committee to enact legislation that will make those parties responsible for breaches in data security to pay the costs borne by their customers, including financial institutions, which have paid millions of dollars in recent years to reissue cards after account information has been leaked by third parties. “Merchants, retailers, data brokers or any other party that holds customer information should be held financially accountable if it is responsible for a data breach,” Milazzo is expected to say, according to an advance copy of his congressional testimony. Testifying with the NAFCU director will be representatives from Visa USA; the National Retail Federation; the Association for Competitive Technology and the Computer Technology Industry Association.