AI-assisted research summary: This section defines terms used in the chapter, including breach of security, covered entity, data in electronic form, government entity, individual, sensitive personally identifying information, and third-party agent.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) BREACH OF SECURITY or BREACH. The unauthorized acquisition of data in electronic form containing sensitive personally identifying information. Acquisition occurring over a period of time committed by the same entity constitutes one breach. The term does not include any of the following: a. Good faith acquisition of sensitive personally identifying information by an employee or agent of a covered entity, unless the information is used for a purpose unrelated to the business or subject to further unauthorized use. b. The release of a public record not otherwise subject to confidentiality or nondisclosure requirements. c. Any lawful investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement or intelligence agency of the state, or a political subdivision of the state. (2) COVERED ENTITY. A person, sole proprietorship, partnership, government entity, corporation, nonprofit, trust, estate, cooperative association, or other business entity that acquires or uses sensitive personally identifying information. (3) DATA IN ELECTRONIC FORM. Any data stored electronically or digitally on any computer system or other database, including, but not limited to, recordable tapes and other mass storage devices. (4) GOVERNMENT ENTITY. The state, a county, or a municipality or any instrumentality of the state, a county, or a municipality. (5) INDIVIDUAL. Any Alabama resident whose sensitive personally identifying information was, or the covered entity reasonably believes to have been, accessed as a result of the breach. (6) SENSITIVE PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION. a. Except as provided in paragraph b., an Alabama resident’s first name or first initial and last name in combination with one or more of the following with respect to the same Alabama resident: 1. A non-truncated Social Security number or tax identification number. 2. A non-truncated driver’s license number, state-issued identification card number, passport number, military identification number, or other unique identification number issued on a government document used to verify the identity of a specific individual. 3. A financial account number, including a bank account number, credit card number, or debit card number, in combination with any security code, access code, password, expiration date, or PIN, that is necessary to access the financial account or to conduct a transaction that will credit or debit the financial account. 4. Any information regarding an individual’s medical history, mental or physical condition, or medical treatment or diagnosis by a health care professional. 5. An individual’s health insurance policy number or subscriber identification number and any unique identifier used by a health insurer to identify the individual. 6. A user name or email address, in combination with a password or security question and answer that would permit access to an online account affiliated with the covered entity that is reasonably likely to contain or is used to obtain sensitive personally identifying information. b. The term does not include either of the following: 1. Information about an individual which has been lawfully made public by a federal, state, or local government record or a widely distributed media. 2. Information that is truncated, encrypted, secured, or modified by any other method or technology that removes elements that personally identify an individual or that otherwise renders the information unusable, including encryption of the data, document, or device containing the sensitive personally identifying information, unless the covered entity knows or has reason to know that the encryption key or security credential that could render the personally identifying information readable or useable has been breached together with the information. (7) THIRD-PARTY AGENT. An entity that has been contracted to maintain, store, process, or is otherwise permitted to access sensitive personally identifying information in connection with providing services to a covered entity.