Working for Internet Security

The co-founder of the Congressional Internet Caucus and the second Senator to start a website, Senator Leahy is sometimes called the “Cyber Senator.”  He has been a leader on many Internet issues, such as expanding broadband access to much of Vermont, and has worked to protect Americans as access to information becomes more readily available—not only to legitimate internet users, but also to cybercriminals worldwide.

Protecting Data Privacy and Combating Cybercrime and Identity Theft

Data Security.  Last year, Senator Leahy reintroduced his Personal Data Privacy and Security Act,  a comprehensive privacy and cybersecurity bill that will provide new safeguards to protect all Americans from the growing threats of data breaches and identity theft.  According to the Privacy Rights Clearing House, more than 340 million records containing sensitive personal information have been involved in data security breaches since Senators Leahy and Specter first introduced this bipartisan legislation in 2005.  

Security of Health Records.  Senator Leahy advocated for passage of strong privacy protections for electronic health records as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  The health privacy provisions give every American the right to access his or her own electronic health records, require timely notice of data breaches involving health information, and impose critical restrictions on the sale of sensitive health data.

Identity Theft.  Senator Leahy also authored the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2008.  This new criminal law would add much-needed new tools for federal prosecutors to combat identity theft and other cyber crimes.  The law includes provisions that give victims of identity theft the ability to seek restitution for the loss of time and money spent restoring credit and remedying the harms of identity theft; make it a felony to employ spyware or keyloggers on ten or more computers regardless of the amount of damage caused; and make it a crime to threaten to steal or release information from a computer. 

Senator Leahy has also sponsored legislation to make Social Security numbers more secure and to increase penalties for the improper use of Social Security numbers because this is a prime method of identity theft.