Illinois Joins The Fray: Strengthens Its Laws Around Data Breach Notification And Data Security

Sophisticated phishing scams and muscular hacking efforts continue to compromise personal and sensitive information held by insurers, hospital systems, and businesses large and small. In response, many states have strengthened their data breach notification and have enacted data security laws to enhance data protection obligations imposed on data collectors and to ensure that residents and state regulators receive prompt and adequate notice of security breaches when they do occur. By mid-summer, a range of new measures will be going into effect in Nebraska, Nevada, Rhode Island and Tennessee. Be sure to review the latest edition of the Mintz Matrix for these new measures.

And now Illinois has become the latest state to take action by recently passing amendments to its Personal Information Protection Act ("PIPA"). Effective as of January 1, 2017, the changes will principally (i) broaden the statute's definition of "personal information," (ii) clarify the encryption