The current state of affairs may have been encouraged—though not justified—by the lack of legal penalty (in America, but not Europe) for data leakage. Until California recently passed a law, American firms did not have to tell anyone, even the victim, when data went astray. That may change fast: lots of proposed data-security legislation is now doing the rounds in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the theft of information about some 40 million credit-card accounts in America, disclosed on June 17th, overshadowed a hugely important decision a day earlier by America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that puts corporate America on notice that regulators will act if firms fail to provide adequate data security.

8B  该处应填入作get表语的形容词。由下一段的lose heart可以知道该处的单词应该带有“泄气”的意思，所以可以确定discouraged为正确选项。

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8.B  该处应填入作get表语的形容词。由下一段的lose heart可以知道该处的单词应该带有“泄气”的意思，所以可以确定discouraged为正确选项。