The Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation has extended the deadline for compliance with standards for how businesses protect and store consumers’ personal information.

The regulations were issued in September and called on businesses to encrypt documents sent over the Internet or saved on laptops or flash drives, encrypt wirelessly transmitted data, and utilize up-to-date firewall protection.

The regulations were initially set to take effect on Jan. 1, but “in light of intervening economic circumstances, OCABR has extended the deadline in order to provide flexibility to businesses that may be experiencing financial challenges brought on by national and international economic conditions,” the office said in a statement.

The general compliance deadline has been extended to May 1. The deadline for ensuring that third-party service providers are capable of protecting personal information and contractually binding them to do so will also be extended to May 1, and the deadline for requiring written certification from third-party providers will be further extended to January 1, 2010.