Legal TREND. Cities Suing Tech Companies Over Location Data Gathering.

Los Angeles City Attorney filed suit against the Weather Channel App for not properly disclosing that the app retains user location data.

Where would I see this in legislation? in fraud, deceptive trade practices, competititve practices, cybersecurity bills that protect geolocation

Engadget | LA sues Weather Channel app owner over ‘fraudulent’ data use

Lege TREND. State Control over Local Government Cyber Security. Read the Bill.

 Senate Bill 2110 (2019 | ND) would give a North Dakota state agency, Information Technology Department, the power to:

  •  “advise, oversee and regulate cybersecurity strategy” for:
    • state agencies
    • higher education
    • cities
    • counties
    • school districts

What’s the state argument for a unified cybersecurity approach? the local govenrments and entities are connected at some point to a state network

Local government support? Yes, the North Dakota League of Cities supports the initiative because of (1) ransomware threats and (2) small cities with part time auditors

Grand Forks Herald | Bill looks to standardize North Dakota cybersecurity for public entities

Refresher: Legislative Draft. Business Safe Harbor. Cybersecurity state legislation.

Ohio was the first state to create a safe harbor for business in its 2018 cybersecurity legislation. SB220 (OH | 2018)

How did Ohio craft its liability protection for businesses? A business has to do 1 of these:

(1) Create, maintain, and comply with a written
cybersecurity program that contains administrative, technical,
and physical safeguards for the protection of personal
information and that reasonably conforms to an industry
recognized cybersecurity framework, as described in section
1354.03 of the Revised Code; or
      (2) Create, maintain, and comply with a written
cybersecurity program that contains administrative, technical,
and physical safeguards for the protection of both personal
information and restricted information and that reasonably
conforms to an industry recognized cybersecurity framework, as
described in section 1354.03 of the Revised Code.
      (B) A covered entity's cybersecurity program shall be
designed to do all of the following with respect to the
information described in division (A)(1) or (2) of this section,
as applicable:
      (1) Protect the security and confidentiality of the
information;
      (2) Protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to
the security or integrity of the information;
      (3) Protect against unauthorized access to and acquisition
of the information that is likely to result in a material risk
of identity theft or other fraud to the individual to whom the
information relates.
      (C) The scale and scope of a covered entity's
cybersecurity program under division (A)(1) or (2) of this
section, as applicable, is appropriate if it is based on all of
the following factors:
      (1) The size and complexity of the covered entity;
 (2) The nature and scope of the activities of the covered
entity;
      (3) The sensitivity of the information to be protected;
      (4) The cost and availability of tools to improve
information security and reduce vulnerabilities;
      (5) The resources available to the covered entity.

Lege TREND. State passes Equifax Fix. State Attorney General Proposes More Fixes. 2 Key Points.

In 2018, Vermont passed a data breach notification bill to address the Equifax data breach.

Vermont’s Attorney General is Recommending the following additional legislative fixes:

  • Create a new statewide office, Chief Privacy Officer,  charged with ensuring the state establishes best practices for handling Vermonters’ personal information
    • the position would advocate for additional privacy protections for citizens & hear concerns
  • Stronger protections for student data by educational technology
    • The model: a 2016 California law that prohibits education technology companies from selling student information or disclosing it for purposes unrelated to education

VT Digger | AG says Vermont should take more steps to protect data privacy

Lege TREND. State wants to save costs. Move to Digital Records. Procurement Opportunity.

New Jersey is looking to save costs by moving to exclusively digital records, making the state government paperless. 

The caveat: data security risks

What was the legislative plan to get to a paperless NJ state government?

  • The Govenror made it a goal for his administration
  • Legislation creates a task force to make recommendations and suggestionts to address concerns, like data security
  • Task Force 15 person membership includes:
    • secretary of state
    • state treasurer
    • director of the New Jersey Division of Taxation
    • head of cybersecurity in the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness
    • other members with expertise in such areas as government information technology, revenue collection and voting

Government Technology | New Jersey Bill Would Push State Government to Go Paperless

Lege TREND. Top Data Security State Legislation in 2019.

  • California Privacy Act.  Will other states replicate it? Is it the US solution for GDPR?
  • Federal Preemption. Will Congress pass federal data breach notification standards?
  • Data Privacy Requirements for Internet of Things.  Privacy standards for your home thermostat, etc… See California’s SB 327 (2018)
  • Will small businesses get a carve out bill? See S770 (115th Congress)
  • Federal Preemption of Data Encryption Standards for Business

Sc Media | Top cybersecurity legislation of 2019

Lege TREND. Experts speak. What should an ideal data security law look like? 9 quick points

According to lawyers wirting in the Harvard Business Review, a data security regulatory system should:

  • focusing more on systemic ways to address cyber threat
  • not treat businesses punitively 
  • require the federal government to take a more active role in cyber defense
  • require the federal government to share cybersecuity knowledge with the private sector
  • require agencies to “issue pragmatic, cost-effective operational guidance to companies on how to defend against evolving risks”
  • incentivizing security improvements
  •  provides greater confidentiality concerning security measures
  • provide liability protections
  • create a public-private collective cyber defense

Harvard Business Review | Stopping Data Breaches Will Require Help from Governments

3 Reasons Government Help Needed to Stop Data Breaches. Businesses Are Victims Too.

 

  • Thinking on these laws is backwards. Laws should switch from punishing coporations to realizing in data breaches, companies are most likely also victims of criminal activity
    • it is not a fair framework to punish companies
    • and it is not effective enforcement
  • Limited cyber experts. It is impossible for “every company in America to have sufficient internal cyber expertise to manage the risk.”
  • The robbery analogy. When a bank is robbed, do we blame the bank? No.

Harvard Business Review | Stopping Data Breaches Will Require Help from Governments

Should cyber security bills include "fake news"?

Stanford researchers and other professors looking at this federal definition of cybersecurity:

Prevention of damage to, protection of, and restoration of computers, electronic communications systems, electronic communications services, wire communication, and electronic communication, including information contained therein, to ensure its availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and nonrepudiation

think that the definition is outdated and needs to reflect the use of disinformation.

The list of cybersecurity legislative changes that are being bandied about:

  • including disinformation campaigns
  •  prohibiting the use of digital bots to impersonate people
  • more tansparency on how the algorithms used by social media sites work

Lawfare | Cybersecurity: Time for a New Definition