1 of 4 | President Barack Obama signs the new BuySecure Initiative thats direct the government to lead by example in securing transactions and sensitive data at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington, DC on October 17, 2014. UPI/Olivier Douliery/Pool |
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order requiring the federal government, private credit card companies and other lenders to take immediate steps to enhance consumer security measures.
"Given that identity crimes, including credit, debit, and other payment card fraud, continue to be a risk to U.S. economic activity, and given the economic consequences of data breaches, the United States must take further action to enhance the security of data in the financial marketplace," the executive order began.
"While the U.S. Government's credit, debit, and other payment card programs already include protections against fraud, the Government must further strengthen the security of consumer data and encourage the adoption of enhanced safeguards nationwide in a manner that protects privacy and confidentiality while maintaining an efficient and innovative financial system."
The new security requirements include securing government payments using "enhanced security features, including chip-and-PIN technology," expediting the amount of time it takes victims of identity theft to be recouped for their losses and securing federal payments online.
Since autumn 2013 alone, cyber criminals have successfully engineered security breaches and gained customer data from Target, Home Depot, eBay, Neiman Marcus, AOL, Domino's and JP Morgan Chase, to name just a handful of a violated corporations.
"While there is no silver bullet to guarantee data security, the President is signing an Executive Order to implement enhanced security measures, including securing credit, debit, and other payment cards with microchips in lieu of basic magnetic strips, and PINs, such as those standard on consumer ATM cards," the White House conceded in a statement.
"He is calling on all stakeholders to join the Administration and a number of major corporations in driving the economy toward more secure standards to safeguard consumer finances and reduce their chances of becoming victims of identity theft -- America's fastest-growing crime."
