PR - FTC to Co-Host Workshop on Data Security

The Federal Trade Commission will co-host a workshop on April 15, 2008, in Chicago, to discuss best practices for creating an effective data security system and for responding in the event of a data breach.

Privacy and security of personal consumer information has become an ever-growing topic as the threat of identity theft has grown in the public and private sectors. The President’s Task Force on Identity Theft, created by Executive Order on May 10, 2006, was established to identify how to combat identity theft and safeguard consumer data.

In April 2007, the task force issued a report, Combating Identity Theft: A Strategic Plan, which offered a thorough overview of the identity theft problem in the United States and provided recommendations to implement an effective identity theft prevention strategy.

One recommendation from the task force is to better educate the private sector on safeguarding data. The task force stated the increase in data breaches requires educating businesses on the significance of data security, legal obligations as to the safeguarding of data, and how to implement better data privacy and security policies and procedures.

In this regard, the task force specifically recommended the federal financial regulatory agencies and the FTC hold regional seminars for businesses and financial institutions about safeguarding information, preventing and reporting breaches, and assisting identity theft victims. The recommendation urged for local bar associations, the Better Business Bureaus and other related organizations to assist in hosting such seminars.

The task force also recommended the FTC provide written guidance to private sector entities not regulated by the federal banking regulatory agencies or the Security and Exchange Commission on how to properly safeguard information. In particular, the task force urged such guidance to provide detailed explanation of the principles concerning safeguarding information encompassed in existing laws.

In following the first recommendation of the task force, the FTC is co-hosting a workshop with the International Association of Privacy Professionals and Northwestern University School of Law, titled Protecting Personal Information: Best Practices for Business, on April 15, 2008 in Chicago. The workshop will feature professionals from the private sector, government officials, privacy officers and other experts on data security who will discuss issues surrounding the safeguarding of information and will provide practical guidance on establishing and maintaining an effective data security program and how to properly respond to security concerns.

The workshop begins at 9 a.m. and will be held in the Thorne Auditorium of the Arthur Rubloff Building on the Chicago campus of the Northwestern University School of Law. It is free and open to the public. Additional information about the workshop is available on the workshop’s Web site.