Essert's blog

In the state of Massachusetts, data breaches must be reported promptly to the Attorney General's Office and to affected individuals under state law. The purpose of this law is to protect the personal and financial information of Massachusetts residents from falling into the wrong hands.

If you are a business or organization that experiences a data breach, it is important to understand your obligations under Massachusetts law. Failure to comply with the law can result in significant financial penalties, as well as damage to your reputation.

Under Massachusetts law, a data breach is defined as any unauthorized acquisition or access to sensitive personal information that compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of the information. Sensitive personal information includes things like social security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account numbers, and medical information.

If your organization experiences a data breach, you must notify the Attorney General's Office and affected individuals in a timely manner. Notification must be made as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay. If the breach affects more than 10,000 Massachusetts residents, you must also notify credit reporting agencies.

Notification to individuals must include specific information about the breach, including the types of information that were compromised, the date range of the breach, and a description of the steps you are taking to protect affected individuals. In addition, you must provide information about credit monitoring services that affected individuals can use to monitor their credit reports.

If you are a small business with fewer than 10 employees, you are exempt from the notification requirement if you have implemented and maintain a written information security program (WISP) that includes specific elements. The WISP must be designed to protect sensitive personal information from unauthorized access or acquisition, and must include specific administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.

In addition to the notification requirements, Massachusetts law also requires businesses and organizations to take steps to prevent data breaches from occurring in the first place. This includes implementing reasonable security measures to protect sensitive personal information, such as encrypting data, using firewalls and antivirus software, and restricting access to sensitive information to only those employees who need it.

Overall, the Massachusetts data breach reporting law is designed to protect the personal and financial information of Massachusetts residents. If your organization experiences a data breach, it is important to take prompt action to notify affected individuals and the Attorney General's Office, and to take steps to prevent future breaches from occurring. By following these requirements, you can help ensure that sensitive personal information remains secure and protected.