WASHINGTON—NAFCU has sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee ahead of today’s hearing on credit bureaus and data security.
NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel, who signed the letter, emphasized that the recent Equifax data breach highlighted the need for addressing consumer data security issues at national credit bureaus and beyond.
“As NAFCU has long advocated to the Committee, there is a need for a national data security standard for entities that collect and store consumers’ personal and financial information that are not already subject to the same stringent requirements as depository institutions. Unfortunately, data breaches have become a constant concern of the American people. Major data breaches now occur with an unacceptable level of regularity. A recent Gallup poll found that 69% of U.S. adults are frequently or occasionally concerned about having their credit card information stolen by hackers. These staggering survey results speak for themselves and should demonstrate the need for greater national attention to this issue,” wrote Hunt.