New York's Breach Notification Law Mandates Alerts for Data Breaches

New York has joined the growing list of U.S. states requiring that companies notify their customers whenever private information has been compromised. On Wednesday, the state's Information Security Breach and Notification Act went into effect, according to a spokeswoman for the state's attorney general, Eliot Spitzer. The law, which is similar to California's SB-1386 notification law, requires businesses and state agencies to inform New York residents "whose unencrpyted personal information may have been acquired by an unauthorized person," according to the text of the legislation.

New York's Notification Act is one of a growing number of legislative and regulatory efforts that are forcing executives to pay more attention to security, said Dan Aiken, the compliance director with New York's Hospital for Special Surgery "Now, like in California, if your information is compromised, or if you have reason to believe it may have been compromised, you have to report it," he said, speaking at the Infosecurity conference in New York Wednesday. "There's a real risk to brand name, to your public reputation."

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