Senate in search of consensus on data breaches

Congress failed to pass a new federal law last year requiring the litany of companies affected by data breaches — from gaming giant Sony to shoe e-tailer Zappos — to notify consumers. But now some lawmakers believe they have a new route for passage: the Senate’s upcoming cybersecurity reform bill.

While the draft cybersecurity proposal by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and others currently lacks any data security element, lawmakers could use the amendment process to tack on to the bill new rules for how companies should secure their users’ personal information. There’s already some momentum: The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared three distinct data security bills at one markup last year, and the Senate Commerce Committee has been working on its own version for months — though it has been unable to hold a markup or solicit much Republican support. Yet it remains to be seen whether lawmakers can agree on a solution.