Odysseas Papadimitriou, founder/CEO of the credit card comparison website, CardHub.com, said President Obama's new cybersecurity proposal does not go far enough.
"While the White House refers to credit scores as 'one of the best early indicators of identity theft' and touts the benefits of providing consumers with access to scores from a pair of major issuers, the truth is that credit scores are only as good as the credit reports on which they are based," Papadimitriou said Monday.
Obama's proposal clarifies and strengthens the obligations companies have to notify customers when their personal information has been exposed, including establishing a 30-day notification requirement from the discovery of a breach, while providing companies with the certainty of a single, national standard, according to the White House.
The CardHub CEO said it makes far more sense for the White House to propose legislation that would require free, ongoing access for all consumers to their three major credit reports.
Papadimitriou said permitting free continuous access of credit reports would be the best type of credit monitoring for consumers.
"Not only are consumers tasked with monitoring their own credit data for signs of fraud or the inaccuracies for which bureaus are known, but they have to pay for the privilege," he said. "There is no service that offers free ongoing access to all three credit bureaus. The President had a chance to change that, but he blew it."
Reacting to Obama's announcement, Financial Services Roundtable CEO Tim Pawlenty said his organization still wants to see a national data security standard.
"While we applaud the push for a national data breach notification law, we urge the President to also support a data security standard so retail consumers are better protected," Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor, said.
The National Retail Federation said Obama has taken steps that will help retailers and their customers. The trade group also said it has long-supported a national and preemptive data breach notification standard and law.
"From mandating credit cards for federal government employees that require both a PIN and chip to advocating for a uniform federal data breach notification law, the President is moving the conversation and taking affirmative steps that will help retailers and their customers battle cyber fraud and abuse," David French, NRF SVP for government relations, said.
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