CYBERSECURITY & TECH

What’s happening? Georgia, the country, is placing some its wine production on blockchain allowing investors and enthusiasts to track provenance and buy and sell associated non-fungible tokens 

Why is this important? First, NFTs are new, hot items. Secondly, the blockchain tracking of Provence will improve the reputation of Georgian wines and will be tied to its wine’s quality-assurance standard

How will this be important? The legislation beings together the wine industry, blockchain technology companies and customers.

NASDAQ | Georgia to Put Its Wine on the Blockchain

What’s happening? The EU is adopting new rules requiring those who send and receive cryptocurrency to track senders and recipients

Why is this important? to keep track of dirty money transactions, which is largely the same rules that exist for wire transfers

How will this be important? These new rules can track down money launders and those who finance terrorism

Thompson Reuters | EU to tighten rules on cryptoasset transfers

What is happening? CT is starting an incentive program for businesses to adopt cyber security measures. HB 6607 (2021 | CT)

Why is this important? The goal is to “reward companies for creating and maintaining a written cybersecurity program with administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect both personal information and the businesses’ confidential data.”

How will this be important? Companies will receive liability protection just like OH and UT.

MSSP | Connecticut offers incentives to businesses, MSSPs to install cybersecurity controls

What’s happening?

• 21 states considered blockchain legislation
• Miami considered paying its workers in cryptocurrency
• Miami considered receiving tax payments in cryptocurrency
• SF 38 (2021 | WY) in Wyoming made WY the first state to recognize decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs)
  • Fun fact: WY was the first state to recognize the LLC in the 1970s

Why is this important? Other states are going to start recognizing DAOs

How will this be important?

• There’s an argument that storing information on blockchain’s distributed ledger is safer from hackers.
• In 2019 Colorado passed SB 19-023 (2019-CO) that exempts some digital assets from state securities regulations

Governing | Mountain West Extends Blockchain’s Digital Frontier

What’s happening? last year there was a 400% increase in ransomware. Cyber Insurance payouts top 70% of break even.

Why is this important? This means it is no longer not cheaper to not pay the criminals. Now the insurers pay the criminals.

How will this be important? Commerical premiums jumped 39% in March 2021. This is an intersection of a lot of funds and hackers.

AP | In crosshairs of ransomware crooks, cyber insurers struggle

What’s happening? Coca Cola has added Chief privacy officer to “define global privacy and legal personal data strategy.” The new privacy officer is also a she according to the link.

Why is this important? It wasn’t that long ago we started seeing Information officers and then Sustainability officers, and now Let’s welcome Data Privacy officers.

How will this be important? Coca Cola won’t be the first.

Bloomberg Law | Coca-Cola Adds Privacy Chief in Reshuffling Under New Top Lawyer

What’s happening? Colorado Governor signed SB 21-190 (2021 | CO) requiring companies to disclose how they use data; and giving Coloradans  the right to opt out of data collection; “access, correct or delete” the data, or obtain a portable copy of the collected information

Why is this important? Colorados enforcement mechanism is to apply the Deceptive Trade Practices Act for enforcement.

How will this be important? Colorado is the 4th state to give its residents a Right to Privacy in their Data. 46 more states to approach the issue.

Route Fifty | Colorado Becomes Fourth State to Give Residents Control of Their Online Data

What’s happening? Ohio Republicans are proposing data privacy rights that would allow Ohioans to have the ability to have personal data deleted and request that it not be sold. Businesses would “adhere to specified data standards” & the Ohio Attorney General would have exclusive authority to enforce it. No “private right of action would exist”

Why is this important? Ohio lays out best practices for businesses.

How will it be important? The number of data breaches is only increasing.

Governing | Ohio to Create Data Rights as Breaches Set to Break Records

What’s happening? Congress is considering No Biometric Barriers to Housing Act of 2021  that would ban biometric technology in most federally funded public housing

Why is this important? Lawmakers aren’t only in treated in the use of biometric software but also the rational behind using the software in the first place.

How will this be important? They say privacy protecting legislation is gaining steam in Congress.

NextGov | Bill Would Ban Facial Recognition in Public Housing

What’s happening? In 2013 8 tech companies formed Reform Government Surveillance to lobby for surveillance reforms by opposing the “dragnet collection of Americans’ private data”

Why is this important? we’re talking about Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo and AOL, Amazon, Dropbox, Evernote, Snap and Zoom

How will this be important? A lobbying firm that runs the coalition decided that Evernote wasn’t active enough, so they removed its logo. The company says it’s still a member. This is a cautionary tale that tech companies, and tech media will notice tech changes.

Tech Crunch | Evernote quietly disappeared from an anti-surveillance lobbying group’s website