Breach Disclosure: New Laws, Higher Standard

Wells Fargo's Alexander says breach disclosure laws are getting tougher."I'm seeing some states relying more heavily on encryption and even mandating action," says Philip Alexander, a Wells Fargo Bank Information Security Officer who wrote the 2007 book Data Breach Disclosure Laws - a State by State Perspective, now in its second edition. "In the old days (2003 or 2004) many of the laws focused on 'If you had a breach, were you encrypted?' Some of the new laws now mandate encryption."

In an interview on the latest state-by-state breach disclosure trends, Alexander discusses:

• Recent examples of breach legislation;
• The challenge of enforcing tougher standards;
• What to expect re: data breach disclosure from the federal government this year.

Alexander began his career in computers back in the late 1980s while serving in the U.S. military. Since then he has worked in both the public and private sectors in positions including engineer, project manager, security architect and IT director. He currently works for Wells Fargo Bank as an Information Security Officer.

He is also an avid public speaker, and regularly presents at security conferences around the country and abroad. He has published a number of information security articles as well. Alexander is the author of the books Data Breach Disclosure Laws - a State by State Perspective, and Information Security: A Manager's Guide to Thwarting Data Thieves and Hackers.