The spread of the coronavirus is allowing bad actors to exploit fears and target consumer data, CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan wrote to all 535 Congressional offices Thursday. Donovan cites a recent NBC News article saying the disease is a “dream come true for criminals who will use it as basis for email attacks designed to snag personal information, steal money and infect computers with malware.”

“While you are hard at work trying to keep your constituents safe from the coronavirus disease, scammers are working just as hard to steal your constituents’ digital identities,” Donovan wrote. “We look forward to continuing to work with your office on data security and privacy legislation that will keep Americans' digital identities secure.”

The message links to information on CUNA’s advocacy efforts to secure data in order to make communities safer. CUNA is strongly pushing for Congressional action on a national data security and privacy standard that preempts state laws and applies to all entities that collect, use and store consumer data.

CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle wrote in The Hill last week, during CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference, that data breaches aren’t going away and Congress needs to take definitive steps to protect consumer data.