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July 7, 2014 – A recent survey on consumer attitudes about merchant data breaches supports the case, pressed by NAFCU, for enacting national data security and breach notification standards for merchants.

In a survey of 1,000 consumers by Total System Services Inc. (see the infographic), 64 percent of consumers responding said they blame merchants for data breaches, and 28 percent blame banks and card networks. By contrast, 67 percent expect banks and networks to tell them when a breach occurs, and 61 percent expect the institutions to "make it right."

TIME also says a new report from Identity Theft Resource Center shows 10.9 million personal consumer records have already been exposed as a result of the 381 data breaches already having taken place this year. It notes the rise in data breaches coincides with the increase in amount of identity theft since 2010, when the crime appeared to decrease.

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, in an editorial last month in The Huffington Post, highlighted the effects of data breaches on consumers and reiterated the association's call for national data security and breach notification standards for retailers.

NAFCU was the first financial trade association to call for a national data security standard for retailers in the wake of the Target breach and continues to push for action on Capitol Hill.