FTC must disclose its data security standards.

• Position: INFO SECURITY

The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) chief administrative law judge ruled earlier this month that the agency can be compelled to disclose the data security standards it uses "to pursue enforcement action against companies that suffer data breaches."

The decision was issued in response to a motion filed by LabMD, a medical laboratory the FTC charged with unfair trade practices for exposing sensitive information belonging to 10,000 patients in 2010, reported Computerworld.

LabMD, which is now defunct, accused the FTC of holding it to security standards that didn't officially exist at the federal level --hence, the motion to require the FTC to disclose the standards it uses to determine if a company has reasonable security measures in place. The judge agreed, ruling that the FTC's Bureau of Consumer...