RILA Submitted Comments Wednesday Ahead Of Senate Commerce, Science And Transportation Committee Hearing
Arlington , VA, 2014-3-27 — /EPR Retail News/ — In a statement submitted today to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) highlights the progress retailers have made collaborating within the retail industry as well as with other stakeholders in the payments ecosystem to advance payments security to prevent future cyber attacks. The letter was submitted for the record ahead of the Committee hearing, “Protecting Personal Consumer Information from Cyber Attacks and Data Breaches.”
Retailers take the threat of cyber attacks extremely seriously and work diligently every day to stay ahead of the sophisticated criminals behind them.
In the letter, RILA calls on Congress, “to enact federal data breach notification legislation that is practical, proportional and sets a single national standard, replacing the patchwork of state laws currently in place. A federal standard will help ensure that customers receive timely and accurate information following a breach, and any legislation considered by Congress should include three essential provision.”
Creating a single national standard to replace the current patchwork of 46 state notification laws that add unnecessary complexity to the process is extremely important and a concept endorsed by Members of Congress as well as the Administration.
“RILA and the retail industry have taken strides to improve security and form strategic partnerships to improve information sharing,” Bill Hughes, senior vice president of government affairs at RILA, continued in the letter.
In February, RILA launched its Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Initiative. As part of the initiative, RILA called for collaboration among retailers, banks and card networks to advance improved payments security. The RILA plan focused on four major steps that should be taken to improve the security of debit and credit cards.
Another critical part of RILA’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Initiative is developing a threat information sharing network for retailers. The Retail Cybersecurity Leadership Council (RCLC), established as part of the RILA Initiative, had its first in-person meeting at the NCFTA’s facility in Pittsburgh this week to begin exploring models for future information sharing across the retail industry and externally, and will defining next steps in the development of such a network.
RILA is the trade association of the world’s largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad.
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Allie Brandenburger
Director, Communications
Phone: 703-600-2063
Email: allie.brandenburger@rila.org