Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) emphasized the importance of data security on Wednesday after the personal information of state employees in Tennessee was breached following their participation in an online wellness screening.
Approximately 60,000 state employees who took part in wellness screenings in 2013 through a third-party vendor had their email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, genders and dates of birth stolen, Wsmv.com reports.
“Data security is something we must take very seriously in the internet age, and I am glad that these employees are reportedly being notified that their personal information has been breached so that they can take the steps necessary to ensure their privacy,” Black said. “This is one of the reasons I have been so outspoken and concerned with the lack of data security surrounding the federal Obamacare exchange that Tennesseans are using to sign up for health insurance. Under current laws, the federal government is under no obligation to notify Tennesseans if their personal information is stolen because of a data breach on healthcare.gov.”
Black called the lack of transparency “unacceptable.” She said the current state of the law led her to work with her colleagues to pass the Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act to address the issue.
Since the bill passed the House, the Senate has not moved forward with the legislation.