Time for Wyoming Legislature to Take Action

Wyoming has built a deserved reputation as a forward-thinking state in the digital economy. Its leadership in blockchain regulation and digital asset law has attracted companies, investors, and innovators from across the country. But beneath that progressive exterior lies a troubling gap: the state’s cybersecurity and consumer protection statutes remain rooted in a pre-smartphone era, leaving Wyoming residents, businesses, and institutions dangerously exposed to threats that the law was never written to address.

Read the the WyoCAN summary and legislative recommendations

The Wyoming Cybersecurity Action Network (WyoCAN) committee has conducted a thorough review of the relevant state statutes governing identity theft, computer crimes, credit card fraud, consumer protection, and data breach notification. What WyoCAN found should concern every Wyoming citizen, lawmaker, and business owner. The laws meant to protect us are riddled with outdated definitions, inconsistent terminology, and gaps that sophisticated criminals exploit every day.
Consider the definition of personally identifiable information in Wyoming’s identity theft statutes. It does not include social media identifiers, GPS tracking data, children’s information, biometric data, or cryptocurrency accounts — all of which are primary targets of modern identity criminals.

Ransomware, now one of the most devastating tools of financial crime, is still defined solely as an extortion instrument, even though it is increasingly used to steal and sell data. Credit card fraud statutes make no mention of digital payment platforms like PayPal, Venmo, or Apple Pay. Consumer protection laws still refer to direct mail and telephone as primary channels for fraud, while scammers operate almost exclusively through email, text, and social media.

The consequences are real. A woman in Gillette lost $1,600 to an online scam that Wyoming’s consumer protection statutes, as currently written, struggle to clearly address. Data breach notification requirements leave organizations uncertain about when and how to inform customers, give regulators no clear forensic authority, and say nothing meaningful about third-party vendor accountability — the source of an increasing share of breaches.

And, although some progress was made on changing the stalking law to include electronic stalking thanks to Cathy Holman, Wyoming remains one of only six states in the country with no law expressly criminalizing electronic harassment and cyberbullying.

The fixes are neither radical nor expensive. Penalties should be made proportional to actual losses rather than fixed amounts that become outdated. Definitions of personally identifiable information should be expanded to reflect how identity is constructed and exploited in the digital age. Data breach notification standards should align with recognized frameworks — the European GDPR’s 72-hour notification requirement offers a reasonable model. Consumer protection language should explicitly cover email, text, and social media solicitation. Electronic harassment should be added to existing harassment statutes. Internet service providers should be required to obtain explicit consumer consent before selling personal data.

Wyoming has demonstrated that it can lead the nation in digital policy when it chooses to. The DAO LLC statute, the SPDI bank charter, the digital asset property framework — these were bold, forward-looking decisions that positioned Wyoming as a destination for digital innovation.

The same boldness is needed now for the laws that protect the people who live here. Innovation and protection are not competing values — they are complementary ones. A state serious about digital leadership must be equally serious about digital safety.
The legislature should act during the 2027 session.
A summary of the flawed statute language and suggested changes were presented last year to the Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology. But updating state laws should be a concern for every legislator. WyoCAN urges all concerned Wyoming residents to contact their legislators and candidates to update state laws to make them current.