Hacking: The Naked Age Cybercrime, Clapper & Standing, and the Debate Between State and Federal Data Breach Notification Laws

In 2016, the FBI reported that on average more than 4,000 ransomware attacks occurred every day. An October 2017 Equifax breach exposed the sensitive personal information of nearly 146 million Americans—almost half of the United States population. To make matters worse, after the Equifax breach, the public was directed to a phishing website to “check” if personal information was stolen. The internet is the new Wild West for any tech-savvy individual, and, in this modern age, there is no telling how far the tech-horizon reaches.

State data breach notification laws are not uniform. There also is no uniform federal statute governing data breach notification. However, a state-by-state method, as will be analyzed in this note, is the best method for providing notice to consumers.