InfoHive – Data Security

What is happening? Center for Data Innovation report calls for state legislation to pass laws with “tougher enforcement of penalties on companies that solicit or write fake reviews.” The report also recommends laws that “prevent people from getting hit with lawsuits over negative reviews they write.”

Why is this important? Online reviews affected $3.8 trillion of global e-commerce revenue in 2020

How will this be important? “In 2013, the New York state attorney general created a fake yogurt shop to solicit offers from companies that leave fake reviews on platforms like Google and Yelp. In all, 19 companies were identified, and the perpetrators agreed to stop writing reviews and pay $350,000 in fines. ” Wow. Just wow.

Governing | States Should Crack Down on Bogus Online Reviews, Advocates Say

What is happening? A crypto mining holding company purchased an office building in the Greater Houston area that has a contiguous 1000,000 sq. feet of underground data center space that is “ready to receive approximately 15MW of power capacity.”

Why is this important? It can connect quickly to the grid. There is also talk of renewable generation site by developing incremental power on 30 contiguous acres. 

How will this be important? Greenidge Technology Holdings has halted all new cryptomining in Texas, and is focusing on existing facilities in North Carolina and New York.

DCD | Cryptomining holding firm acquires underground data center in Texas

What is happening? The most reliable COVID rate data is found in wastewater, not in positive test results. Waste water COVID data is more reliable and economical to collect.

Why is this important? Although waster water COVID data is more accurate, funding for collecting COVID data in wastewater has been unreliable.

How will this be important?  There are now “1,000 CDC-funded surveillance sites are now operational across the U.S. The agency expects 200 more to start collecting data within the next few months.”

Governing | Wastewater Produces Better COVID Data, But Is Inconsistent

What is happening? The Maine Technology Asset Fund is a state-funded $45 million business development program that has served almost 30 Maine companies since 2019. The kicker- it’s allegedly steeped in privacy with very little public information.

Why is this important? The lack of public disclosure was enshrined in 1999 when the program was created. Now, the Legislature looks to review it and see what light needs to shine.

How will this be important? The grant program requires recipient companies to make investments, the program is capped at a certain amount, and receive payments based on performance.

Governing | Despite Secrecy, Maine’s Tech Investment Program Protects Taxpayers

What is happening? Revealing a mobile phone user’s precise location is an issue when that mobile phone user has a restraining order against a violent former partner. Privacy advocates say there isn’t enough consistency, that while the FCC controls, 3rd party contracts can let geolocation information through.

Why is this important? Laws and technology do not innovate at the same pace. Technology is like light speed and laws are like a sloth. With the added fun of states also having ability to enforce their own data privacy laws.

How will this be important? According to the FCC, “Continued reliance on such attenuated consent mechanisms and ineffective monitoring tools apparently did not meet the reasonableness requirement,” so letting consumers decide might not be the best choice.

Route Fifty | Lax State Data Privacy Rules May Expose Consumer Location Information

What is happening? For 12 years in a row healthcare data breaches have been the costliest. Since 2020 costs are up 20% and in year over year terms, the average cost is up $1M to $10.1 million.

Why is this important? The 2nd costliest industry for data breaches is finance and its average annual cost is $6 million.

How will this be important? “Across all industries, the average cost of a data breach was $9.4 million in the U.S.”

Healthcare Dive | Healthcare remains costliest industry for data breaches

What is happening? California is considering SB892 (2022 | CA) that requires California’s Office of Emergency Management to “develop, propose and adopt optional reporting requirements” for food and agriculture industry entities and cooperatives and water/wastewater systems.

Why is this important? Emergency Management Services will provide a “strategic, multiyear outreach plan” to help these organizations boost cybersecurity

How will this be important? The bill also prohibits reported cyber attacks from being available from public information.

Government Technology | California IT Bills Survive as Legislative Deadline Nears

What is happening? Texas Comptroller’s Fiscal Note for August 2022 highlights crypto mining. Turns out there is no way to know how many crypto mining operations are up and running in Texas because there is no registration requirement.

Why is this important? Crypto it is said is looking for 3 things: electricity availability, electricity rates, and the speed by which electricity can be delivered. By example, the Whinstone Crypto Mine operating in Rockdale, TX is housed in a former Alcoa Steel Facility. A modest size crypto mine is said to use the same amount of electricity as downtown Dallas. Whinstone has had a positive economic impact on Rockdale from job creation to city tax revenues.

How will this be important? By 2030 it is estimated that crypto mining in texas could use the same amount of electricity as the City of Houston.

State of Texas Comptroller | Cryptocurrency in Texas

What is happening? By the end of 2022, 30% of states will join the  Joint-Cybersecurity Operations Command Center. The Center was founded in North Dakota. 20% of states are currently members of the Center that facilitates interstate cooperation on cybersecurity and threat intelligence. 

Why is this important? “If one state is being attacked, the others will most likely be targeted next,” North Dakota’s Chief Information Security Officer Michael Gregg said in a statement.

How will this be important? Prior to the Center’s formation there was no response sharing, and now more than 13,000 organizations including state and local governments, providing “incident response and remediation.”

Route Fifty | Interstate Cyber Command Center Expands to 10 States

What is happening? The EU has created a new regulatory position, it will “create a sixth “Anti-Money Laundering Authority” (AMLD6) that will be specifically responsible for regulating the cryptocurrency industry.”

Why is this important? AMLD6 will have direct control over the crypto market. It is described by the EU parliament as ““EU-level supervision consisting of a hub and spoke model – i.e. supervisor at the EU level competent for direct supervision of certain financial institutions (FIs), indirect supervision/coordination of the other FIs, and a coordination role for supervising the non-financial sector as a first step.”

How will this be important? The US, states, other countries, are all trying to figure out crypto regulation. Here’s a roadmap, take what you want, leave behind what you don’t like.

EU Parliament | AMLD6

The BLOCK | The EU is on the verge of creating a new AML regulator that will oversee crypto