Kentucky Becomes The 47th State To Enact A Data Breach Notification Law

Maximillian Bodoin and Samuel Taylor are Associates in our Boston office

HIGHLIGHTS:

Kentucky is now the 47th state with a data breach notification law, a development that should be of interest not only to Kentucky-based entities, but also to entities that do business in Kentucky and have personal information about its residents. This alert explains how, under the new Kentucky data breach notification law, entities that collect personal information about Kentucky residents are required to provide notice when a data breach results in the unauthorized disclosure of that information. It also answers other key questions about the law. On April 10, 2014, Kentucky became the 47th state to enact a data breach notification law. The new Kentucky data breach law is not limited to only Kentucky-based entities, but any entity that conducts business in Kentucky and that has personal information about Kentucky residents.

Generally, state data breach laws require entities that collect personal information to provide notice of a breach that results in the unauthorized disclosure of that personal information. Personal information is typically defined as an individual's name in combination with: (1) a Social Security number; (2) a driver's license or other state ID; or (3) financial account information. The notice must be provided to each affected individual, and the law governing the content and method of the notice depends on the state in which the individual resides. As a result, an entity responding to a data breach must comply with the applicable law for each state in which affected individuals reside.

Kentucky's law, now part of Chapter 365 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes, follows a similar format to existing state data breach laws. The following summarizes certain key provisions in the Kentucky data breach law.

To whom does the Kentucky data breach law apply?

The Kentucky data breach law applies to any "Information Holder," which is defined as a person or business entity that conducts business in Kentucky. Kentucky's new law explicitly excludes agencies "of the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its local governments or political subdivisions."

The Kentucky data breach law also distinguishes between an Information Holder that owns the personal information it maintains and an Information Holder that maintains personal information for a third party. Both types of Information Holders are subject to the new Kentucky law, but their obligations are...