brandWho Colorado law applies to
- Any business or government entity that maintains, owns or licenses personal information of Colorado residents
- Larger data controllers under the Colorado Privacy Act (generally 100,000+ consumers, or 25,000+ with data sales)
What Colorado law means for a small business
Colorado’s data security law (C.R.S. § 6-1-713 through 6-1-716) applies regardless of industry. It covers personal information such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account numbers with access codes, online login credentials and certain medical and biometric data.
The 30-day notification window is one of the shortest in the country, which makes preparation essential. Encryption matters too: encrypted data is generally treated differently if the key was not also compromised.
Colorado law requirements and how we meet them
| Requirement | How Vail Valley IT handles it |
|---|---|
| Reasonable security procedures and practices | A documented security baseline: MFA, encryption, patching, monitored endpoints and backups. Managed IT Services |
| Written disposal policy and secure destruction | Secure wiping of retired devices and a written data disposal policy. Hardware Upgrades |
| Vendor security requirements | Vendors handling personal information required to maintain reasonable security. |
| Breach investigation and 30-day notice | Logging, incident response planning and support to determine scope quickly. Emergency & On-Demand IT Support |
Common Colorado law gaps we find in valley businesses
- Old computers recycled without wiping drives
- No written disposal policy
- No plan for who decides whether an incident is a notifiable breach
- Unencrypted laptops holding customer data
Evidence to keep on file
- Security policies
- Data disposal policy and destruction records
- Incident response plan
- Vendor agreements
How we get you there
Gap assessment
We compare your current setup to Colorado law and list what is missing.
Remediation plan
Prioritized fixes with a flat price, in plain language.
Implement & train
Controls, policies and staff training put in place.
Test & document
Scans, pen tests and an evidence file you can hand to an auditor.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a Colorado business have to report a data breach?
Affected Colorado residents must be notified no later than 30 days after the business determines a security breach occurred. If 500 or more Colorado residents are affected, the Colorado Attorney General must also be notified within 30 days.
Does the Colorado Privacy Act apply to small businesses?
Usually not. The Colorado Privacy Act generally applies to controllers that process data of 100,000 or more Colorado consumers a year, or 25,000 or more while deriving revenue from selling data. The separate data security and breach law applies to businesses of every size.