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NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger signed onto a joint editorial published in The Hill on Monday with heads of six other financial trade associations to urge Congress to support a strong national data security standard for retailers and to pass the "Data Security Act."

NAFCU and the other trades – which include the American Bankers Association, the Financial Service Roundtable, CUNA and the Clearing House – together represent the Financial Services Data Security Coalition.

In the joint editorial, the signers wrote: "In some sectors, where the nature and sensitivity of consumer data has always been obvious, such as banking and health care, Congress long ago aligned consumer expectations with federal requirements to keep customer information safe. The reality of today's interconnected, data-driven world means other less-obvious sectors like retail handle and store much of the same sensitive data."

They continued, "Despite the alarming rise in the number and sophistication of cyber threats and merchant data breaches, no federal standard for protecting consumer data at retailers and other firms that handle sensitive financial information exists."

NAFCU continues to push for lawmakers to pass "The Data Security Act" – introduced by Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., in the Senate and by Reps. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, and John Carney, D-Del., in the House. Berger and other senior NAFCU staff will discuss the association's response to ongoing retailer data breaches during the member-only call-in discussion on Thursday at 4 p.m. Eastern.