Every corporation in America today is concerned with security and the liability of not providing enough security to its clients and employees. For organizations that use personal electronic records to handle non-public customer information, the need to protect that data has never been greater. Identity theft has reached epidemic proportions; in fact, Congress estimates that nearly 10 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2004 alone.

Could this be the year that Congress enacts comprehensive data security and breach notification legislation? As the seemingly endless stream of news stories announcing the latest breaches continue, Members of Congress consistently voice their support for uniform national laws In the U.S. Senate, Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy and Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter revived a version of their Personal Data Privacy Act that was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last year but died before a floor vote. The senators first proposed an even broader version of the sweeping measure in 2005 after word of high-profile breaches at ChoicePoint and LexisNexis, two major collectors of consumer information.

Senators and Representatives from both sides of the aisle have introduced several new pieces of legislation proposing sweeping new frameworks for data privacy law:

S. 239 (“Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act”); H.R. 958 (“Data Accountability and Trust Act”); H.R. 836 (“Cyber-Security Enhancement and Consumer Data Protection Act of 2007”); S. 495 (“Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2007”).

S. 495 and H.R. 958 establish requirements for data security, as well as breach notification standards; S. 239 is limited to breach notification requirements; and H.R. 836 criminalizes the concealment of data breaches, enhances penalties for identity theft, and requires the reporting of breaches to federal law enforcement agencies. Whatever the final text of data privacy legislation, we are likely to see this Congress pass federal data security legislation. Congressional leaders have emphasized that data privacy and breach notification are top priorities.

The CyberAngel with Wi-Trac offers a comprehensive set of security features that provide User Authentication, Data Protection, Remote Access Restriction, and Tracking and recovery of lost of stolen computers. We ensure that the confidential information is encrypted and secure at time of boot-up, and proper Authentication allows full access to that machine. Violation of the Authentication keeps that information encrypted and hidden from view, prevents remote access from that computer back to a network or an online account, and provides location information to our Security Monitoring Center to use in the recovery of that stolen asset. The CyberAngel with Wi-Trac can help keep you in compliance with existing and new data / privacy laws and provide your end-users with the ability to recover their stolen assets. Our Wi-Trac technology is the only available product that can track a computer through a wireless network. With this increase in Privacy and Security Breach laws, and the over 50% wireless penetration of suburban America, The CyberAngel with Wi-Trac just makes sense as an effective tool for Data Protection and Theft Recovery.