Data Security: The Texas Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act

HB 4390 amends the Texas Identity Theft and Protection Act with two major changes that took affect Jan. 1, 2020. Those who suffered a breach need to send notices to the consumers who were affected and the Texas Attorney General within 60 days of learning of the breach. And, if a breach affects more than 250 Texas residents, the company or individual that suffered the breach must notify the Texas Attorney General.

Texas Identity Theft and Protection Act

To further protect consumers, the Texas Privacy Protection Act HB 4390 states that any notifications must include specific information, including the number of Texas residents that were affected by the breach, a detailed description of the breach, what the company did once it found out about the breach, what the company plans to do to prevent additional breaches, and whether law enforcement was notified of the breach.

Pursuant to the Texas Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act, a business could face fines of up to $250,000 for a data breach. To prevent identity theft and security breaches, you should take certain steps to protect your business, including shredding documents with Shred America. We provide locked shred boxes so that you can remove files from locked cabinets as they reach their final retention date. The old files are locked in our secure shred boxes until our scheduled appointment to shred documents.

How the New Law Affects Businesses

Previously, the Texas privacy protection laws required businesses to report major breaches. That has not changed. Businesses must report data breaches within 60 days of learning of the breach. Lawmakers tightened regulations regarding data breach reporting in an attempt to reduce identity theft cases in Texas, by making businesses more responsible for security.

The new law also created a council made up of members of the House of Representatives, Senators and five additional members, one each from the telecommunications, data analytics, advertising, internet service provider and retail and electronic transaction industries. The council will research data privacy laws in the United States and abroad in order to make additional recommendations for more security laws.

Protect Your Data

The Texas privacy protection act encourages businesses to increase data security so that fewer people have to suffer through identity theft. Instead of taking a chance on having your data stolen, increase your business’s security by shredding all documents that have reached their retention date and are not returned to the customer/client/patient.

Many customers already using our services left glowing reviews, including someone creating an account and setting up a shredding schedule over the phone, someone who likes the professional way our staff acts, and how friendly the staff is, and several accolades for employees.

Contacting Shred America for Shredding Services

Make sure your documents are safe, whether they have not reached their retention date and are stored in locked cabinets in a locked filing room, or they have reached their retention date and you are ready to discard them. Shred America provides locked shredding boxes so that when you remove old files from your filing system, they stay secure while waiting for your scheduled document pickup or shred appointment.

Contact Shred America today to create an account based on your specific needs and to further keep your confidential documents out of the wrong hands.