Bankers vs. retailers on data security

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>]

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/02/20/bill_targets_retailers_fo
r_costs_to_fix_data_thefts/

Bill targets retailers for costs to fix data thefts
They say plan would fatten bank profits, not protect public
By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff  |  February 20, 2007

Citing the high-tech theft of credit card numbers from Stop & Shop
Supermarket Cos., Massachusetts bankers yesterday urged state legislators to
force retailers and others who fail to keep card data protected to pay all
costs for fixing security breaches.

"What happened at Stop & Shop is another example of retailers not doing
enough to protect consumers," said the Massachusetts Bankers Association's
spokesman, Bruce E. Spitzer. "If companies know they'll be responsible for
every expense caused by a security breach, maybe they'll finally invest in
better security."

But the president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, Jon B.
Hurst, said the banker-backed bill, offered by state Representative Michael
A. Costello, a Newburyport Democrat, would add needless new expenses --
pumping up bank profits, not protecting consumers.

"It's a typical banker pyramiding scheme to get more dollars into their
pockets," Hurst said of the bill, which was filed at the end of last year.

...


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