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4/4/2022
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Sen. DiPalma’s bill that protects employees after data breaches to be heard on Wednesday
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STATE HOUSE – Sen. Louis. P. DiPalma’s legislation (2022-S 2664) which would protect public employees after data breaches will be heard by the Senate Labor Committee on April 6.
The legislation amends the Identity Theft Protection Act of 2015, which was also sponsored by Senator DiPalma, by requiring municipal and all state agencies to report data breaches in a timelier manner.
“Time and resources are essential when dealing with data breaches of confidential information systems and as we saw with the recent RIPTA data breach, these cybercrimes have the potential to negatively impact thousands of Rhode Island’s public-sector employees and their families. This bill will strengthen our response times and corrective actions, ensuring that any damage resulting from data breaches is recognized and addressed in the fastest manner possible,” said Senator DiPalma.
Rep. Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Portsmouth, Middletown) has introduced the legislation (2022-H 7884) in the House of Representatives and it was heard by the House Innovation, Internet, & Technology Committee on March 22.
“All of the employees who were affected by the RIPTA data breach experienced great fear and uncertainty due to their confidential information becoming vulnerable and exposed and they were particularly stressed due to the delayed reporting and acknowledgment of this significant data hack. This legislation will address these serious concerns if Rhode Island once again falls victim to a data breach,” said Representative Cortvriend.
According to the previous legislation, governmental agencies that stored personal information had to disclose a data breach to affected people within 45 days of the incursion. The new legislation reduces that time frame to 15 days. The legislation also provides for identity theft protection services to be offered to any affected employee for a minimum of five years and for any individual under the age of 18, identity protection would be offered until their 18th birthday and for no less than the following two years.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
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