Wisconsin Hits Identity Theft with the Cheese

Wisconsin's governor signed into law
last week a new disclosure law aimed
at stemming the tide of identity theft.

In a novel twist, this new law requires the
offending entity to disclose to consumers
within 45 days of the security breach using
even "electronic means" such as
e-mail.

Note, in many other states the consumer
disclosure would typically be made as
a press release to the general public
and/or direct mail letters.

"Whatever way in which a business or
government wants to notify, it doesn'’t
matter. As long as the affected individuals
are notified in a timely manner; the quicker
they can either choose to freeze their credit
or check their billing statements, Kanavas stated."

Plus, this new identity theft disclosure law
holds far reaching implications for future
definitions of what type of personal
data would qualify for notification of a
security breach.

In addition to traditional social security,
account, & pin numbers, the following other
types of personal data would be covered:

• Drivers license
• Credit card numbers
• Fingerprints
• Voice prints
• Retina scan
• DNA profile

So, our tip for today is to let your
friends and associates living within
the state of Wisconsin know of this
important, new right now available
to them in the fight against identity
theft.

It essentially gives citizens the
opportunity to react quicker to
known identity theft disclosures
and not be left totally in the
dark when companies and other
entities suffer security breaches
exposing highly sensitive consumer
information.

As always, though, it's prudent to
not be solely reliant upon disclosure
laws. We urge you to adopt a more
proactive identity theft preventative
by adopting your very own
monitoring solution.