Month: July 2021

Senators Maroney, Duff, & Needleman, Representative Arconti Voice Disapproval Following Ally Bank Leaking Password, Continue Fight for Data Privacy Law in State

Today, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex), and State Representative David Arconti (D-Danbury) voiced their disapproval to the ongoing details of the Ally Bank data leak. Recently, Ally Bank leaked user names and passwords to third-party marketing partners. It took the company two months to notify customers of the breach and continue to refuse to name who the data was leaked to.

Data leaks such as this one have become more commonplace. According to Risk Based Security, the number of records exposed increased to 36 billion in 2020 and there were 2,935 publicly reported breaches in the first three quarters of 2020. Other trends included a doubling of ransomware attacks from 2019 to 2020. Healthcare was the most victimized sector in 2020.

“Customer security should be foremost on businesses’ minds, especially essential services like banks that offer services directly impacting customers’ lives. For Ally Bank to not only leak customer information to marketing partners but take two months to even notify customers is a betrayal of those customers’ trust,” said Sen. Duff, Senate Majority Leader. “They even refuse to provide information on where and who the data was leaked to, vital information that customers need to know to know how serious this issue is and protect themselves from potential financial harm. It’s an abdication of their responsibilities.”

“It is critical that we fight for strong protections for Connecticut residents,” said Sen. Maroney. “To prevent leaks like this from happening, and in an unfortunate event that they do happen, there needs to some form of recourse action taken. I will continue to fight for data privacy protection for consumers in our state.”

“The decisions made by Ally Bank in this situation seem to have been made by committee and without urgency – when customers may face serious personal harm because of them,” said Sen. Needleman, Senate Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee. “When phishing and cyber vulnerability continue to grow as threats in the modern day, it’s a serious lapse of judgment for Ally to slow-walk such a precarious situation. This cannot become a regular occurrence.”

“This unfortunate personal data breach at Ally Bank, is another example of the imperative need to strengthen Connecticut’s data privacy laws to help protect customers from similar situations,” said Rep. David Arconti, House Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee. “Now more than ever, with the rise in technology and the many online options for conducting everyday business, our personal information must be protected.”

This past legislative session, legislation was introduced that would protect Connecticut residents’ privacy on electronic devices. The consumer bill of rights provision that would have provided consumers with rights and corporations with responsibility ultimately did not pass both chambers. The legislation would have given the Connecticut Attorney General the power to enforce the consumer rights in the event of corporate violations of those rights. The legislators will be working to reintroduce that legislation next session.

The Consumer Privacy legislation would have created a consumer data bill of rights and required big-tech companies to clearly state what data is being collected, how it’s being used, and why – and consumers would have the right to see that data, fix any errors in it, or delete it all. If a data breach were to happen to residents in Connecticut such as the data that was leaked by Ally Bank, the financial institution would have had to let their consumers know right away, it would not be allowed for them to take two months.

Senator Needleman Joins Attorney General Tong, Senate Majority Leader Duff to Demand Answers Regarding Altice Internet Speed Reductions of Up to 85%

Today, State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex) joined Attorney General William Tong and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) in Hartford outside the Attorney General’s office to demand answers from Altice, which plans to drastically slash the speeds of its internet services on July 12. When families and businesses are still heavily reliant on telecommuting and internet access to stay safe and connected during the pandemic – not to mention the company’s statements indicating the decision to cut speeds came solely because current offered speeds are faster than competitors’ services – this decision is one that will harm customers.

“This is a race to the bottom. Competition has not instilled a greater sense of responsibility on the part of these companies,” said Sen. Needleman. “Altice has a lot to be embarrassed about doing this in this moment, doing this when families are still at home and we do not know what the future will hold. They should be looking to do more to improve their speeds and service, not race to the bottom. Competition should instill a better product at a lower price – this is exactly the opposite. It is not right. There will probably be a public hearing on this where we can hear form these companies about what allows them to make decisions like this.”

“This action by Altice for its Optimum customers is nothing more than a slap in the face to consumers and a race to the bottom in an unregulated industry,” said Sen. Duff. “Right now, it’s the Wild West out there with many cable companies and internet service providers. No one is watching over them, and they are able to make changes with very little notice, without customers knowing what is happening and not providing information for consumers to make the right choices. They’ll say they’re meeting industry standards, but that’s just a race to the bottom – they don’t have much competition. They’ll say this is only for new consumers, but it really means they’ll either try to get people into higher-priced plans, or everyone else will eventually get into lower service. This is not good news for consumers. Altice has continued to raise rates and fees, not in a transparent way, and they will continue to reduce speeds for customers. To take this step at this moment, at this time, is wrong.”

The planned service adjustments from Altice will impact new Optimum internet customers or current customers who make changes to their service plans. Current customers will not be affected unless, or until, they upgrade, downgrade or change services. Most Optimum plans offer upload speeds of 35 Mbps, but beginning July 12, plans offered will be downgraded to as low as 5 Mbps upload speed. With video chatting, Zoom calls and other online data uploads requiring higher data uses, and the pandemic pushing many forms of communication online, these changes will not benefit customers – especially in parts of the state where Altice is the primary internet service provider.

“Optimum’s Plan not only raises prices on essential broadband services, it further exacerbates the ‘digital divide’ in Connecticut at a time when the continuing coronavirus pandemic has made more families reliant on their broadband service than ever,” Attorney General Tong stated in a letter sent today to Altice. “It is simply unconscionable to raise rates on Connecticut families when they both need broadband internet the most and are least able to bear higher cost for adequate service. I urge you to reconsider implementing Optimum’s Plan by: (a) canceling the Plan altogether; or, at the very least (b) postponing the Plan for one year or until the current economic and public health crisis is over.”

Customer Credits, Spoilage Compensation from ‘Take Back Our Grid’ Act Go Into Effect Today

Standards and procedures for residential customers to receive credits and further compensation for spoiled food and medicine from Eversource and United Illuminating, developed as a result of the 2020 “Take Back Our Grid” Act, go into effect today, July 1, after the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority yesterday made final approvals. State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex) and State Representative David Arconti (D-Danbury), Senate and House Chairs of the Energy & Technology Committee, today commended PURA’s enacting of these standards, which came after extensive work from them and their colleagues in the wake of the damaging Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020.

“I’m extremely enthused by this decision, as it will help get real restitution for electric customers who suffer extended power outages,” said Sen. Needleman. “We know now that the damage of Tropical Storm Isaias, and other storms, could have been mitigated if utility providers took action to respond in a faster, more efficient fashion. Residents lost medicine and food and were left without power in the middle of a heat wave, many for more than a week, last year. It is reassuring to know that customers who experience future extended outages will receive compensation. I hope that compensation has a secondary effect of enticing utilities to spend more on immediate response to avoid what can be seen as penalties for poor performance.”

“This is a good step forward in compensating ratepayers across the state that faithfully keep their end of an agreement. Paying their bill should mean reliable service and a well-planned response during times of crisis,” said Energy and Technology Committee House Chair Rep. David Arconti. “I will continue to support and push for measures that enforce a reciprocal relationship between customers of an indispensable utility that is critical to everyday life.”

PURA’s decision, effective as of July 1, 2021, will provide customers with $25 bill credits for every 24 hours they lose power after they’ve experienced 96 consecutive hours, or four days, of an electricity outage after a major storm or emergency. A customer who loses power for six days, for instance, would receive $50 in bill credits, as they would experience two days of outages after the 96-hour period.

Additionally, in outages lasting longer than 96 consecutive hours, residential customers can receive $250 in compensation for medication and food that expired or spoiled due to an electricity outage lasting longer than four days. Customers will be required to file claims to seek spoilage compensation, and such compensation will be issued via check unless a customer requests a bill credit.

Both credits will need to be provided within two months of the major storm or emergency causing the extended outage. Electric utilities would be allowed to seek waivers to seek relief from customer credits for reasons including line worker safety and ground conditions.

This is just the latest reform put in place by the “Take Back Our Grid” Act, signed into law in October 2020 and spurred by Tropical Storm Isaias two months prior. The tropical storm knocked out power to nearly 1 million Connecticut residents and businesses, some of which did not receive service for as many as ten days during a significant and serious heat wave. Eversource and, to a lesser extent, United Illuminating were found to have not adequately prepared for the storm in post-storm reviews.