New State Law Offers Additional Data Breach Protection to Victims

A new state law will help protect consumers impacted by data breaches. This law takes effect in late September.

Act 33 of 2024, according to state Rep. Joe Hogan, which received unanimous support in both the House and Senate, requires an impacted organization to provide a free credit report and one year of credit monitoring to affected consumers. It also strengthens notification requirements and mandates notification of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General if a data breach occurs in the Commonwealth

The measure would cover instances in which an individual’s first and last name or first initial and last name have been accessed in combination with any of the following information: Social Security number, bank account number, or driver’s license or state ID number, said Hogan.

A record 3,122 data breaches occurred nationally in 2023, affecting hundreds of millions of Americans and costing billions of dollars, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. It marked a 72% increase in data compromises from the previous all-time high in 2021.