Why the CFPB is About to Ramp Up Cyber Enforcement

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stepped into the cyber security enforcement realm on Wednesday, announcing its first enforcement action related to the adequacy of a company’s data security practices.

Dwolla, an e-commerce start up that enables its users to send money to one another without paying banking or transfer fees, agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and submit to a risk assessment of its data security practices twice per year.

The company said in a blog post that it has never experienced a data breach in its five years of operations, but the consent order states that Dwolla did not take “reasonable and appropriate measures” to protect ...