FRANKFORT, KY – Attorney General Daniel Cameron and his colleagues are calling on Congress to protect Americans' sensitive information from data leaks.
The coalition supports legislation that would serve as a hedge against the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Consolidated Audit Trail, which collects personal information on every trade made by every investor and stores it in a massive database. The SEC's plan subjects any person with money in the stock market to constant surveillance of their financial actions—regardless of suspicion or wrongdoing.
"In the digital age, data security is more important than ever. Despite these critical concerns, the government wants to hoard the confidential information of Americans who make ordinary investments with their savings," said General Cameron. "This treasure trove of personal information would be a very easy target for cyber thieves and bad actors. Congress must find a commonsense solution that protects Kentuckians from unnecessary exposure and malicious threats."
The coalition sounds the alarm on the sheer size of this proposed surveillance database, noting the centralized system is unwarranted and raises serious constitutional concerns. Holding such large amounts of personal information also makes it an irresistible target for cyber thieves. And given the disturbing history of hackers sponsored by the Chinese Communist Party breaching governmental and private-sector data repositories, the need to protect Americans' liberty and privacy from a centralized system is clear.
View the letter here.
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