Information Security Breaches: Privacy Laws and Procedures

In the good old days, security concerns of tenants could generally be laid to rest simply by recourse to a good locksmith. In those simpler times, and without any association with security matters, landlords and property managers routinely gathered from tenants social security numbers and other information for purposes of protecting the landlord's interests when it came to tracking down miscreant tenants. Because this type of information was not subject to the widening panoply of privacy-related laws that are now becoming ubiquitous across the United States, no special arrangements were typically considered necessary to protect this information, and there was no particular risk or burden imposed on its holder. How things have changed. Nowadays, holding this type of information can constitute a double-edged sword, with any slip carrying with it the possibility of harm to the wielding hand.

For this reason, landlords and property managers must be aware of the risks inherent in gathering certain tenant-related information and the steps needed to comply with the burgeoning privacy protection laws. While most commercial operators are now generally becoming more mindful of the need to maintain legally protected private information as confidential, it is likely that many landlords and managers are not yet fully versed in certain of the steps that must be taken, both upon discovering that information security has been breached and prior to a breach.