Understanding the New Jersey Data Breach Notification Law and Its Impact on Your Company

Data breaches are among the most significant threats to a business. Their consequences include financial loss and reputational damage. They often impact your customers, exposing sensitive information like home addresses and credit card numbers. Because of the risk they pose, many states have implemented data breach laws to ensure organizations respond ethically and promptly in these scenarios.

Tekie Geek provides a wide range of IT services to businesses and organizations in New York and New Jersey. Here, we share insights about the New Jersey data breach notification law and how it might affect your business.

What Is Considered a Data Breach in New Jersey?

Here’s the definition the NJ Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC), which issues the state data breach notification law, provides for a data breach:

So, to qualify as a data breach, the event must include unauthorized individuals accessing sensitive personal information. The definition then mentions using technology to render data unreadable to anyone other than those authorized to use it. Data encryption is a common method that turns plaintext (unencrypted data) into a code only those with a key can view. So, a threat actor might access networks or systems but still need a code to view data. However, when personal information is not protected, the threat actor gains unauthorized access, and the data is exposed.

What constitutes personal information? According to NJCCIC, this is a person’s name, or first initial and last name, linked with one or more pieces of sensitive information. This might include:  

The law also discusses dissociated data. Data masking is a common practice because it allows organizations to use data for internal purposes, like development and training, without exposing confidential information. It makes sensitive data usable while keeping the individuals it belongs to private.

According to NJCCIC guidelines, dissociated data may still be considered personal information in some circumstances. If the dissociated data can be linked to information about the individual via similar means, it would constitute personal information.

NJCCIC also details what a data breach is not. If your organization requests personal information from a customer for a legitimate business purpose, and that information is used solely for this purpose, it is not a data breach.

Reporting Guidelines Under the New Jersey Data Breach Notification Law

According to New Jersey law, any business or public entity must disclose a breach of its customers’ personal information. Your business must first report the breach and provide any information about the breach to the Division of State Police by contacting NJCCIC. You must complete this step before disclosing the breach to the affected customer(s).

When reporting a breach, be sure to include the following information:

Learn more about the specific provisions of the New Jersey Identity Theft Prevention Act. Please note that while this law refers to financial institutions, data breach reporting is required for all organizations in New Jersey. Failure to adhere to the New Jersey data breach notification law can result in significant consequences under N.J.S.A.56:11-38, N.J.S.A.56:11-29, or both.

Managed IT Services Help Compliance

The evidence suggests that data breaches continue to increase. According to an article from Harvard Business Review, there was a 20% increase in data breaches between 2022 and 2023.

As technology becomes more advanced, cybercriminals often become more adept and develop new tactics to threaten networks, systems, and devices. As organizations rely more on digital technologies and cloud-based solutions to streamline business processes, teams need to understand the potential for cyberattacks each present. More so, they need to be aware of state laws regarding data breaches to ensure they comply with guidelines about reporting.

Managing effective cybersecurity can be overwhelming, which is why many businesses turn to managed IT services. By outsourcing IT tasks to a managed service provider (MSP), you ensure your business has comprehensive protection against cyber risks. MSPs hire teams of IT specialists who collectively have deep knowledge of today’s cybersecurity landscape, including laws regarding data breaches in your state.

There are other benefits of managed IT services. MSPs will proactively monitor your IT infrastructure, detecting potential threats and addressing them before they become bigger problems. With risk assessments, managed IT can help you evaluate the state of your cybersecurity practices to spot areas for improvement.

Even with the most well-defined cybersecurity plan, data breaches can happen. When you partner with an MSP, you can have peace of mind through business continuity solutions. Business continuity ensures you can access your infrastructure and data by reverting systems and networks to a pre-disaster state.

What’s more, managed IT services offer a team of IT specialists available to answer questions through help desk support services. Receive quick response times for answers to troubleshooting issues so you don’t waste a minute. For small and mid-sized businesses, you gain more expertise than the typical in-house IT team can provide at less cost.

Explore Managed IT Services From Tekie Geek

Understanding the New Jersey data breach notification law is about more than following rules. It can minimize the harm your customers and your reputation might face. It can avoid costly legal trouble, even as the breach may have caused financial loss. Ultimately, protecting your IT infrastructure means more effective day-to-day management and cybersecurity, something the IT superheroes at Tekie Geek can help you achieve. Contact us today to learn more about managed IT and our other IT services.