In a move highlighting the necessity of strong data security regulations to ensure that businesses protect sensitive customer data, new laws beginning to take effect in several states in the United States show a growing trend towards requiring encryption.

Nevada was the first U.S. state to adopt new laws mandating better protection for customers' digital confidential information, and all businesses within the state that are engaged in electronic transmission of certain personal information - including names and credit card numbers - must encrypt such transmissions. Massachusetts has recently enacted an even wider-encompassing data privacy and security measure. Michigan and Washington states are also considering similar regulations.

The laws present unexpected hardships for many. Charity organizations, which often store vast amounts of confidential information - including client names and addresses, as well as donor credit card information - are among those which face the most repercussions.

One such group is the Foundation for Positively Kids (FPK), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive care to medically dependent and terminally ill children in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"We are trying to take care of sick and dying kids - why do I have to worry about a new Nevada encryption law?" Fred Schultz, CEO and founder of FPK, asked rhetorically in a recent NonProfit Times article.

Schultz, who is also the Nevada Association of Nonprofit Organizations board chair, has not noted an increased awareness of data accountability issues among non-profit organizations - organizations which often do not have enough time, resources, or even knowledge about the mandate in order to effectively meet it. "It's the law, and whether it has teeth behind it or not, there has to be an effort by nonprofits large and small to try to abide by what the new statute would be," Schultz said.

"We recognize that there are many organizations out there operating on strict budgets that may find it difficult to commit money toward securing private information," says Lavasoft CEO Jason King. "We want to help organizations straining to meet the new encryption mandates to avoid gaps between the law and compliance."

More information about the non-profit discount is available at www.lavasoft.com.