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NAFCU's Oct. Economic & CU Monitor: National Data Security for Retailers Should Be Priority for Congress

Washington (Oct.22, 2015) - The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) released its October Economic & CU Monitor survey on data security and cybersecurity that continues to underscore the need for Congress to take action on national data security standards for retailers.

"Our Oct. ECUM shows credit unions and consumers will only be protected when retailers and merchants are subject to robust federal data safekeeping standards," said NAFCU Chief Economist Curt Long. "Unfortunately, retailers and merchants are not subject to the same data security standards as financial institutions. This leaves consumers' sensitive financial information extremely vulnerable to cybercriminals."

Since 1999, financial institutions have had to adhere to the stringent standards of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that help safeguard consumers' sensitive personal and financial information.

Some of the highlights in the survey include the following:

• Nearly every credit union survey respondent (91.7 percent) believes Congress must make strengthening retailer data security standards a priority.
• According to the survey, small-merchant breaches are worsening: 87 percent of respondents reported an impact from a local merchant breach during the past two years, up from 84 percent in 2014.
• The portion of survey respondents' payment cards that were affected by small, local merchant breaches jumped by 19 percent.
• The number one factor driving survey respondents in the area of information security is the safety of their members (92 percent of respondents).
• Credit union respondents were nearly unanimous (95.7 percent) in their support for sharing information about cyber threats.
• Looking ahead, 80 percent of respondents plan to devote more money toward merchant data breaches in 2016 than they did in 2015.
• Nearly half of survey respondents (48 percent) reported that members had inquired about their credit unions' cybersecurity measures.

NAFCU continues to urge Congress to pass data securitylegislation that make retailers and merchants responsible for breaches that occur on their end.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation's federally insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. www.nafcu.org.

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Patty Briotta
Director of Public Relations
Office:703-842-2820
pbriotta@nafcu.org