Senator Leahy pushes measure to make concealing data breaches a crime

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is pushing for an amendment to a cybersecurity bill that would make it a crime for a company to hide a data breach from its customers.

Under the legislation, anyone who purposefully conceals a data breach that causes financial damage could face up to five years in prison. Other amendments offered by Sen Leahy would set a national standard for companies to notify their customers in the event of a data breach and would require businesses that store consumers' sensitive personal information to establish data security programs.