Bank of Idaho CEO Calls on Congress for Data Security Standardization

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESSWIRE / November 4, 2021 / Bank of Idaho President and CEO Jeff Newgard testified Wednesday before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions.

Newgard testified as a representative of The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICB), calling on Congress to extend Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act data security standards to retailers, technology companies, and other parties that process or store consumer financial data. He was one of a panel of four witnesses to testify Wednesday morning, appearing remotely as part of the hybrid-format hearing.

Newgard said extending the banking industry’s security standards to all players in the payment system would deter security breaches.

“When a data breach occurs, we believe that liability for that breach should be assigned to incentivize stronger security. The cost of a breach should be born by the party that incurs the breach, be that a retailer, a credit reporting agency, bank, or credit union,” he said. “Too often, the breached entity evades accountability, while financial institutions are left to mitigate damages to their customers. Uniformity and harmonization will strengthen the ecosystem by eliminating redundancy, closing gaps and strengthening weak links.”

Newgard, who chairs ICBA’s Cyber and Data Security Committee, had further testimony which focused on three themes: The need to close gaps in law standards, promoting greater uniformity in regulatory efforts, and a call to share information across the economic landscape.

“Right now we have a patchwork throughout all the states, and that becomes very problematic,” he said about existing cybersecurity regulations and enforcement agencies. “I would say that one size does not fit all institutions … but having some standardization and harmonization would be great.

CONTACT:
Tyler Kraupp
Phone: 1.208.390.0667
Tyler.Kraupp@bankofidaho.net