Category Archives: legislative trend

State Innovation Center shifts to Change Cyber Culture in State Government. Opening for Procurement.

In 2013 North Carolina created the 1st Innovation Center (iCenter) in the U.S.

Since 2013, the iCenter has become focused on changing the culture of state government by:

  • working with higher ed
  • reaching out to local governments to help with IT 
  • using technology to think differently and approach issues differently 

What does this mean? State innovation centers are a way to introduce new technology to all levels of government within a state.

Government Technology | North Carolina’s iCenter…

Technology Healthcare TREND. Medicaid and Telehealth. 3 Bits Informed Intel from the East.

Maryland is offering its Medicaid patients a Telehealth App with these policy goals:

  •  By offering emergency room telehealth visits, Maryalnd estiamtes it will cut down on Medicaid ER costs
  • It can help connect patients to medical professionals, such as where to find services
  • Allows for prescriptions to be called in after a telehealth visit

State Government Tech | Maryland Offers Medicaid Users Free Telemedicine App

30 Governors Support 3 Part CyberSecurity Initiative. What you Need to Know.

These 30 Governors, Republican and Democrat, signed onto ther National Governor’s Association Confront the Cyber Threat Initiative: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, Guam, HI, ID, IN, IA, KY, LA, MA, MD,MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, Puerto Rico, RI, UT, VT, Virgin Islands, WA, WV, WI, WY.

The Compact calls for 3 major strides:

  • Growing the nation’s cybersecurity workforce
  • Preparing and defending the state from cybersecurity events 

  • Building cybersecurity…

Lege Trend. Amendments to Ban Governments From Cybersecurity Contracts with Russia.

First comes banning investments in the country du jour, now comes stopping outsourcing funds or policy initiatives related to cybersecurity to Russia.

Amendments bandied about D.C. by Senators Durbin, Warren and Whitehouse prohibit the use of federal funds to establish or support a “joint cybersecurity initiative” with Russia.

This trend is heading toward statehouses near you.

Politico | Morning Cybersecurity | Amendments to the policy roadmap

1st State. Public Private Partnership Task Force Ready for Cyber Attack. 6 points informed:intel.

Michigan created a volunteer public private task force to step in at a moment’s notice to resolve a cyber attack on state systems.

What is the group called? Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps, MiC3

Has Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps, MiC3 been deployed? No

How does it function? Like a volunteer fire department

Who has volunteered? cybersecurity experts from government, education and private industry

Has any other state done this? No. 

Governing | Michigan’s Volunteer-Based Cybersecurity…

3 Ways State and Local Government Struggle with Cybersecurity

  • Lack of cyber security funding
  • Lack of cyber security talent (see above, talent and government wages don’t align)
  • Threats are constantly evolving which takes time, money and talent to stay on top of properly
    • hackers target weakeness such as negligent insiders & unpatched vulnerabilities that leave agencies susceptible to risk

GCN | Why state and local government still struggle with cybersecurity

Lege Trend: Train Every State Employee on Cyber Security. Read the Bill. Procurement Niche.

Illinois HB 2371 requires every state employee to complete annual cybersecurity training. The Department of Information resources may offer a video in lieu of training.

By every employee, the Legislature managed to exclude these employees:

  • legislative
  • judicial
  • higher education
  • every constitutional officer

Government Technology | In Illinois, Cybersecurity Training for State Employees Now Required by Law

 

Business TREND. Employee Cyber Literacy.

Companies are finding cybersecuity weaknesses in employees by sending faux phishing emails and seeing which employees bite.  

Corporate test data shows cyber literacy training reduces the number of employees who fall for phishing scams.

How many years until there are cyber literacy requirements in public education? in state contracts?

SC Media | Diagnosing employee phishing weaknesses key to improving email security