If your company gets hit with a data breach, you only have to notify customers if the exposed data was unencrypted. But this rule, known as the “encryption safe harbor,” is being abolished in Tennessee and other states may follow. Some data privacy lawyers say the new law puts an unfair burden on businesses.
On March 24, Tennessee’s governor signed into law a revised version of the Tennessee Identity Theft Deterrence Act of 1999. Under the amended law, which goes into effect on July 1, notice of a data breach has to be given to affected individuals within 45 days, unless law enforcement needs more time to investigate. Notably, the statute requires notice within the required time even if the data was encrypted.
