Washington State Amends Breach Notification Law To Expand Notification Requirements

On April 23, 2015, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed into law a bill strengthening the state's data breach notification law (amending Wash. Rev. Code §§ 19.255.010 and 42.56.590 and creating a new section). H.B. 1078 makes the following substantial changes to the existing law:

1. Under the current law, businesses and agencies that own or license computerized data including personal information about a Washington resident must disclose any breach in the security of the system involving such personal information that is unencrypted. H.B. 1078 expands this requirement to include:
   • both computerized and hard copy data that contain personal information that is not "secured;" and