Data security advocates gearing up for battle to protect personal information

HELENA – Montana-based data security experts have teamed up with a legislator to make sure individuals' private information does not fall into the wrong hands.

Eric Fulton knows the risks that come with collecting data. He hacks into government agencies' and corporations' networks to find weaknesses in their systems and improve security.

Information that's stolen or sold to a third party can have detrimental effects on people's lives, often without their realization, he said.

Take, for example, the discount cards consumers swipe at grocery stores. Those cards allow supermarkets to keep tabs on...