Online firms could face hefty fines for data management failures, if a new bill passes.
Democratic Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal has introduced a bill which would give the federal government the power to fine companies found to be responsible for security breaches that affect customer information.
"The goal of the proposed law is essentially to hold accountable the companies and entities that store personal information and personal data and to deter data breaches," said Mr Blumenthal.
If passed, the law would allow the Justice Department would be able to hand out fines of $5,000 per violation per day, up to a maximum of $20 million per infringement.
Senator Blumenthal says that Sony's handling of a data breach that affected 77 million customers earlier this year has highlighted the need for this law.
According to a recent study by AVG Technologies residents of the US cities of San Antonio, Tampa and Atlanta are the most at risk of experiencing cybercrime while shopping online.
Posted by Paul Newton