Security News > 2022 > September > Data tracking poses a 'national security risk' FTC told

The massive amounts of digital data being bought and sold - or sometimes freely shared - poses a grave national security risk, according to a former US policymaker and diplomat.

"There's a national security loophole from the proliferation of consumer data when we have so much information about Americans floating around the internet," she said.

She cited the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center's warning [PDF] about China collecting large health-care data sets on Americans "Though both legal and illegal means."

To prevent what she deemed a "National security loophole," Kornbluh said the FTC should require corporations perform due diligence before selling or sharing personal data, and the recipient companies must also have the same legal responsibilities to ensure they're not feeding data to cybercriminals.

The US Chamber of Commerce not only took issue with data privacy mandates, but also with the FTC's word choices including "Harms" and "Commercial surveillance," which it said suggests that businesses are using consumer data for nefarious purposes.

"We urge the FTC to wait on Congress as constitutionally required to pass a true, clear, and workable national privacy law and to follow the FTC Act by remembering the tremendous benefits consumers derive from our data driven economy in any enforcement proceeding," Crenshaw said.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/09/09/data_tracking_national_security_risk/