#TECHNOLOGY NEWS JANUARY 10, 2018 / 4:29 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Senate Democrats propose fines for credit reporting agency hacks

Pete Schroeder
2 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Senate Democrats are proposing large new fines for credit reporting agencies that lose consumers’ personal information in data breaches, according to a bill they introduced on Wednesday.

The bill would impose potentially significant fines against companies like Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian if their cyber security fails to ward off hackers trying to obtain sensitive data. It also would establish a new Office of Cybersecurity at the Federal Trade Commission, and charge it with monitoring cyber security at those companies.

Senators Mark Warner and Elizabeth Warren’s bill is in response to a data breach at Equifax that put the information of 145 million Americans at risk. The bill faces an uphill climb in a Republican-led Congress, but if it became law, would allow the government to fine as much as 75 percent of a credit reporting agency’s gross revenue should a hack occur.

“Our bill imposes massive and mandatory penalties for data breaches at companies like Equifax – and provides robust compensation for affected consumers,” Warren said in a statement.

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