What is true about federal data breach reporting requirements?

• A. There is no federal law requiring breach reporting; only state statutes exist.
• B. There is a federal requirement to report breaches within 24 hours.
• C. PCI-DSS requires breach reporting to credit card networks.
• D. Breach reporting is mandated for federal agencies only.

Answer: (A)

There isn’t a single nationwide federal law that requires breach notices for all organizations. In the United States, private-sector breach reporting is handled mainly by state laws, and any federal requirements apply only to specific sectors or federal agencies, not as a blanket rule for everyone. There’s no universal federal mandate to report breaches within 24 hours. PCI-DSS is a private industry standard, not a federal regulation, and its breach-reporting obligations go to card networks or issuers rather than to federal authorities. Breach reporting rules do exist for federal agencies under laws like FISMA, but that doesn’t make federal coverage the only or overarching rule for all entities. So the best answer reflects that there is no general federal breach reporting requirement; the landscape is largely state-driven with sector-specific federal rules.