Category Archives: government data breach

INTERIM Lege Trend: State Proposes 6 Data Security Standards for Businesses.

New York Legislature, at the behest of its Attorney General, is strengthening its data security laws. 

Assembly Bill 6866 adds new data to protection requirements and increases penalties.

This bill creates these standards that establish compliance with the law for businesses:

  • a business that protects data more than the law requires
  • a business that complies with Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
  • a business that meets international standards for information security
  • a business that complies with…

INTERIM Lege Trend: State Data Security Laws. Upstate Ups the Ante on Health Care & Biometric Data. More fines for More companies.

New York Legislature is considering stronger data security laws which would:

  • increase penalties against companies from $150,000 to $1,000,000
  • in addition to current required protected information of  Social Security, driver’s license and credit card numbers, this bill would require protection of biometrics like fingerprints
  • user names, email addresses, securty questions and answers
  • health information protected under HIPPA
  • establishes reasonable safeguards for business
  • establishes…

U.S.E.D. Inspector General. Education Data is Not Safe. Activists on the Scene.

When did the Inspector General testify that U.S. Department of Education data is not safe? While testifying at a November 17, 2015 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Why is federal education data vulnerable to hackers?

  • lax controls over who can access student data
  • outdated technology
  • inadequate data security

What type of student data does USED keep?

  • 139 million Social Security numbers
  • sensitive financial aid borrower information about students and…

Audit of State Cyber Security Reveals Security Flaws & Recommendations.

California’s state auditor released a report on the California’s technology department that:

  • found 73 of 77 failed to meet state cyber security standards
  • a recently adopted state pilot program to beef up cybersecurity compliance was blasted for taking too long & that compliance verification would take 20 years with existing state resources
  • self certification of agencies lacked enforcement mechanisms

The audit recommends:

  • a mandate that California’s technology department undertake a…

2015 House Interim Charges. 14 Committees. Data Security is Everywhere.

Data Security

Businesses | Financial Institutions | Law Enforcement | Education | Local Governments | State Data Safety | Data Security in State Contracting

THE INTERIM CHARGES

  • Business & Industry: data security in the sharing economy and business cybersecurity
  • County Affairs: County data security and data retention
  • Government Transparency & Operation: state cyber security standards, agency cyber security, data retention and protection of personal information, cloud computing,…

Federal Government Biometric Data Breach. 5.6 Million Fingerprints Revealed

The federal government data breach not only compromised personal data of 21.5 Million former and current federal employees but also compromised 5.6 Million finger prints. 

That’s 4.5 million more than initially reported. 

Rueters | Deluth News Tribune | Hackers steal 5.6 million fingerprint records in government data breach

The Consumerist: Federal Data Breach Included 5.6M Compromised Fingerprints, Five Times The Original Estimate 

6 Trends in State Data Breach Laws

  • Greater Enforcement Powers for State Attorneys General
  • Protecting More types of data = more reasons to notify consumers
  • Expanded liability for private companies that store state data
  • Requiring companies that have a data breach to offer, at their cost, mitigation services that protect data- think Life Lock etc…
  • Protecting Student Data
  • Requiring encryption for stored data
    • As an example, see: 
      • “The new Washington law goes even further as it identifies a minimum standard for…

Lege Trend: Legislative Data Task Force. Protect the Data.

California Governor Jerry Brown announced a new Cybersecurity Task Force today. Its goal are to:

  • “reinforce online security”
  • “protect critical state information from data breaches”

The task force is in response to an audit that faulted California for:

  • lax security measures
  • finding 73 of 77 state entities comply with information security standards.
  • “The 75-page audit criticized the California Department of Technology for failing to identify failing state agencies, and found the state…