The Illinois Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)
What is PIPA?
PIPA protects Illinois residents from misuse of their personal information. The Act mandates the protection of such information by businesses and other data-collecting organizations operating in the state and outlines the steps they must take to inform individuals in the event of a security breach.
Who is affected by PIPA?
The Act applies to all data collectors operating in Illinois, including government agencies, universities, businesses, financial institutions, and any other entity that deals with non-public, personal information. The Act requires data collectors to “notify the resident that there has been a breach of the security system data following discovery or notification of the breach. The disclosure notification shall be made in the most expedient time possible without unreasonable delay.”
Under the Act, personal information is defined as the first name or initial and last name of an individual, in combination with one or more of the following pieces of non-public information:
- A social security number
- A driver’s license number or State Identification card number
- A financial account number
- A credit card or debit card number accompanied by applicable passwords or security codes
Failure to abide by the Act constitutes an unlawful practice under Illinois’ Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Those affected by such failures may pursue civil action for the recovery of real and punitive damages.
Your Partner in Regulatory Compliance
By purging outdated files or placing one of our locked security consoles in your office, Proshred® can assist your company in maintaining a document destruction program that meets PIPA regulations. Using state-of-the-art technology, our highly trained and certified security professionals efficiently shred all documents right on your premises. We give you the option to watch the shredding process, and also provide you with a Certificate of Destruction that records each shred. Trust Proshred® as your partner in compliance for maintaining your document security program.
For more information on the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act, please visit: Illinois General Assembly
For information about our Illinois shredding services, contact our local office in Chicago.