New laws require data encryption

Iowa has passed a data breach law that requires companies to encrypt customer details.

It joins more than 40 other states that require encryption and notification of customers should information be compromised.

According to Jerome Wendt, president and lead analyst at computer consultancy DCIG, some states do not consider encryption alone to provide sufficient security. For example, Pennsylvania has added a stipulation that companies must have proper encryption key management policies in place. This will guarantee that encrypted data on tape cannot be decrypted should someone manage to get their hands on the tape.

Wendt said laws like this “open up a loophole as to what constitutes proper encryption key management policy, as it is no secret that encrypting data stored to tape can be done at a number of points in the backup process.”

He said it is unclear whether providing a one-word password to the software to encrypt the data is a proper key management policy.

But as encryption is becoming a part of the corporate landscape, companies should check appropriate jurisdictions to determine what level of security each should adhere to, he said.