NY Attorney General Says Breach Notifications Up 40 Percent

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Wednesday (May 4) that data breach alerts are on the rise significantly.

In fact, his office announced that it has seen more than a 40 percent increase in data breach notifications involving New Yorkers alone in 2016, when compared to the same time period a year prior. Following the regulations of the New York State Information Security Breach & Notification Act, companies and consumers are required to inform the office of breaches.

As a result of the increased volume of breaches being reported, Schneiderman’s office now offers companies the ability to file notice electronically through a Web submission form on the New York State Attorney General’s office website.

“Data breaches are an escalating threat to our personal and national security, and companies need to do more to ensure reasonable security practices and best standards are in place to protect our most sensitive information,” said Schneiderman. “I am committed to stemming the data breach tide. Making notification to my office easier for companies who have experienced a data breach means quicker notification and quicker resolution for New York’s consumers.”

The office reported that it has received 459 data breach notices from Jan. 1, 2016, through May 2, 2016. That compares to the 327 through the same time last year. In 2015, the office received 809 data breach notices. At the current pace, his office is expecting to receive “well over 1,000 notices for the year,” which would would be a new record.

The legislation proposed by Schneiderman last year involved overhauling New York State’s data security in order to make it easier to track data breaches impacting consumers. The overall goal of the bill is to broaden the type of data that companies must be responsible for protecting.