Category Archives: legislative trend

3 Reasons for Veto of Data Security Bill that Tech Companies Opposed. 4 Steps to a Successful Bill in Veto Statement.

Georgia Governor Deal vetoed  SB315 (2018 | GA)  because:

  • the bill could undermined national security
  •  harmed private businesses’ efforts to stop hackers
  • Georgia needs more discussion on this bill

A future data security bill should:

  • develop a comprehensive policy
  • promoting national security
  • protecting online information
  • continuing to advance Georgia’s position as a leader in the technology industry

Veto Statement on SB 315 May 8, 2018 Georgia Governor Deal

Politically Georgia | Computer…

4 Ways Election Integrity = Hacker Proof in the rhododendron state

West Virigina is securing its voting maschines from hackers by:

  • West Virginia Air National Guard, with top secret clearance, actively tracks hackers
  • West Virigina Secretary of State is prioritizing data security
  • Intelligence Fusion Center, a nexus of state and federal law-enforcement and intelligence officials who handle threats ranging from floods to cyberattacks.
  • State law requires that hand-countable paper ballots be used in every election

New York Times | How West Virginia Is Trying to…

Lege TREND. Colorado Bill Supporting Blockchain. What you Need to know. Agencies Impacted. Data Impacted.

Colorado Legislature passes SB18-086 to require 3 governmental entities:

  • governor’s office of information technology (OIT)
  • department of state
  • department of regulatory agencies

to consider using encryption techniques and blockchain tech in order to protect:

confidential state records.

The bill also requires Colorado to accept business filings in distirbuted ledger (blockchain).

Colorado SB18-086

Cointelegraph | Colorado Passes Bill Advocating Blockchain For Gov’t Data Protection And…

Campaign TREND begets Regulatory TREND. An Ethics Commission + Campaign Contributions in Bitcoin = Regulations

State: Wisconsin

What did Wisconsin’s Ethics Commission do about bitcoin campaign contributions? The Ethics Commission Administrator asked the Legislature to make a determination on how to handle bitcoin contributions

What 2 policy reasons did the Ethics Commission give to the Legislature? 

  • “provide clarity to candidates and committees as to whether they may accept contributions of cryptocurrency.”
  • concern over the anonimity of bitcoin contributions

What prompted bitcoin as campaign…

3 Reasons Tech Companies Want a Data Security Bill Vetoed in the Cherokee Rose State

A group of tech companies, including:

  • Google
  • Microsoft
  • + 50 academics, researchers, cybersecurity experts and technologists

are asking Georgia Governor Deal to veto a bill that makes unauthorized cyber access a crime punishable with up to 1 year in jail because the bill will:

  • chill security research
  • harm the state’s cybersecurity industry
  • Why is that a big deal? Because the bill for the first time would “create new liabilities for security researchers who identify and disclose weaknesses…

3 Touted Benefits of Wyoming's Novel Blockchain Law

Wyoming this year sought to stake out territory as a leader in luring blockchain technology to the state.

These are the benefits that are touted:

  • economic (new businesses moving to WY)
  • elections- blockchain can streamline voting & make it more secure
  • no cost to the state

The concern:

  • Wyoming needs a tax structure that encourages technology companies to move there

Casper Star Tribune | Editorial board: Blockchain could be a boon for Wyoming 

Lege Trend. 4 Pieces of Personal Information a Lawmaker wants Protected from State Disclosure in the Bluebonnet State

State: Texas

The pieces of information that State Representative Giovanni Capriglione wants to prohibit from being sold by the State of Texas:

  • A person’s precise geographic location
  • A person’s internet browsing history
  • A person’s application usage history
  • Teh functional equivalent of this information

What information is the State of Texas selling?

  • Voting records
  • Driver’s records

Houston Chronicle | Facebook may not sell the data it collects, but the state of Texas sure does

Business TREND. New Data Security Business Coalition.

Members of  “Reform Government Surveillance”: Apple, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Twitter

6 Plank Agenda:

  • limiting government authority to collect user information
  • enhancing government oversight
  • promoting transparency about government demands for data
  • preventing hurdles for sharing information
  • ensuring cooperation between nations’ governments
  • encryption. opposing any government required engineered vulnerailities in technology

Politico | SURVEILLANCE COALITION INCLUDES NEW AGENDA ITEM

LEGE TREND. Cutting Costs. Cybersecurity. Small Businesses. The Government is Here to Help Small Business.

The legislation: Small Business Advanced Cybersecurity Enhancements Act of 2018 H.R. 4668

3 Points from HR 4668:

  •  create cybersecurity assistance units at Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) throughout the country
  • point-of-contact for small businesses that suffer a cyber-attack
  • Coordinate expertise from several federal agencies to provide small businesses with the best resources to prevent and recover from cyber-attacks.

The Support Letter from the US Chamber:   HR 4668 Letter 

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