Bart Lazar Quoted in HR Magazine
"Massachusetts: Guidelines for Information Protection in the Bay State"

Bart Lazar was quoted in the article, "Massachusetts: Guidelines for Information Protection in the Bay State," published in the January 16, 2009 issue of HR Magazine. The article outlined the new rules for protecting personal information in company records for Bay State employers. The Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR), which administers the states’ 2007 data breach laws, extended the deadlines to May 1, 2009 and January 1, 2010.

Bart provided a road map for navigating the requirements of the new rules at Seyfarth Shaw’s December 2008 webinar on data breach law. As noted in the article, employers should determine what information they have in inventory files, computer systems and storage media in order identify records that may contain personal information. The article also suggested: restricting access to data; identifying risks to the security of records; evaluating safeguards for detecting and preventing identified risks; designating a person to maintain the security program; and setting up procedures for keeping, accessing and transporting personal information. Bart noted that 40 percent of breaches that can be traced to employees are the result of unintentional mishandling and 60 percent is the result of criminal intentions. He further noted, "Former employees are a major source of security breaches."