Gov. John Carney signed into law House Substitute 1 for House Bill 180, legislation that requires additional protections for Delawareans whose personal information may be compromised in a computer breach.
Protections include additional notifications and free credit monitoring services.
Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, sponsored the legislation, which passed the General Assembly with bipartisan support.
The new law requires businesses to safeguard information and requires businesses to provide free credit monitoring services for customers whose sensitive personal information is compromised in a cybersecurity breach. Delaware became just the second state to require businesses to provide those services, after Connecticut.
“We live in a digital world where threats to personal information are becoming more common, and the cyber threat is one of the most serious economic challenges we face,” said Gov. Carney. “It makes sense to offer additional protections for Delawareans who may have their information compromised in a cybersecurity breach. At the same time, we will continue to connect businesses to training and resources that will help them safeguard and protect their data. I was also proud to sign this legislation on Thursday alongside Dr. Assanis at the University of Delaware, an institution that is helping lead innovation around cybersecurity. Thank you to Representative Baumbach for leading on this issue, and to all members of the General Assembly who voted to approve these new consumer protections.”
“The increase in cyberattacks and data breaches creates an imperative for Delaware to protect citizen information commonly used by criminals to perpetrate identity theft and fraud,” said James Collins, Chief Information Officer at the Delaware Department of Technology and Information. “We all know that prevention is the best strategy and that is our main goal. We want to be proactive so that our citizens and business community can avoid these threats.”
