Senators Launch Probe Of Massive Data Breaches

Several senators repeated calls for legislation to ward off massive data thefts during a hearing to review the vulnerability of the nation's digital-payment systems, the first in a trio of sessions examining the enormous breaches sustained recently at retailers around the country.

Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) declared that Congress needed to adopt tighter data-security protections and heighten the Federal Trade Commission's authority to police businesses failing to adequately protect consumer data. “The FTC should have the enforcement authority it needs to protect consumers and it looks to me like it doesn't have that authority right now," Sen Warren said during a Senate Banking subcommittee hearing. "Data-security problems aren't going to go away on their own, so Congress seriously needs to consider whether to strengthen the FTC's hand." The FTC has the authority to punish "unfair" business practices, a standard that continues to remain legally murky. While the FTC has used the standard to go after some companies that have failed to ensure adequate data-security standards, pending legal challenges levied by Wyndham Hotel and LabMD seek to challenge the authority.