InfoHive – Data Security

What are the competing interests in Cares Act funding of broadband projects?

• CARES Act is short-term funding response to COVID
• Broadband expansion is a long-term planning
• CARES Act requires that broadband projects be operational by Dec 31st to be funded

Which states are in this quagmire? Vermont, Alabama, Iowa, and New Hampshire

AP | States eager to expand broadband, wary of CARES Act deadline

The Courts keeping technology it relied on during DOVID: Ohio Court System

Why do Ohio Courts want to keep the technology changes from COVID?

• Judges realized the courts were actually behind in terms of technology
• They see the potential for ease & efficiency in the technology
• Webinar parenting classes were successful

Akron Beacon Journal via Governing | Ohio Courts Technology Upgrades Will Stay Post-Pandemic

Recommendations for blockchain state implementation: 

At the Department of Motor Vehicle:

• digital wallet for individual identification
• building a common blockchain platform for tracking a vehicle’s lifecycle
• creating a fine-grained security structure for sharing driver records across states

At the Department of Food & Agriculture

• To trace the source of food-borne contamination by collecting and organizing data from growers, transporters, wholesalers and retailers to locate products in the distribution system to speed recall and consumer notification

Move the State Archives online.

Recommendations for Blockchain industry:

• Offer incentives to blockchain companies that have an environmental sustainability plan or impact statement

• Industry should help the state develop blockchain policies and standards

California’s Blockchain Working Group Report to the Legislature

Who are members of Texas Blockchain Council? 

Hedera Hasgraph

Unchained capital

Ripple

A Real blockchain solution

Crestline Solutions

Foley

Kilroy Blockchain

Arski Tech

Vertalo

Austin Blockchain Collective

Dallas Baptist University

Houston Blockchain Alliance

Hyland

iownit.us

Vercey 

Trammell Venture Partners

Mercintelli Healthcare Solutions

Interaxis

McCullough Sudan

HoneyComb Digital Investments

The goal: For Texas to become the top jurisdictions for U.S.-based blockchain businesses and investments

@txblockchain1

texasblockchaincouncil.com

Cointelegraph | US State of Texas Saddles Up to Become the Next Blockchain Capital

The country: Lithuania in coordination with the Lithuanian Bank

The name of Lithuania’s bitcoin? LBCOIN 

What will a national bitcoin effectively be like? A credit card but Baltic & new

The numbers:

• €19.18 present value
• 4,000 collectable Independence currencies made by Lithuania
• 24,000 gatherer tokens

Cryptocurrency Post | Lithuania Becomes the First Country Issuing a Blockchain-Based Collectable Coin

What partnership has emerged between health officials and universities? Utilizing university students as contact tracers

Where is this coming to fruition? Marin County, California in partnership with Dominician University & utilizing a contact tracing course from Johns Hopkins Univeristy 

Route 50 | A Government-University Partnership to Train Students as Contact Tracers

Who knows when in person school starts, but let’s face it before COVID schools relied more on technology. Technology that regulators can protect and used by children who regulators can protect. It is a regulatory free for all.

Leave it to the federal government to get to work. Congress is considering:

• the National Cyber Director Act that creates the federal cybersecurity director to oversee cybersecurity regulations nationwide
• PROTECT Act that will develop the cybersecurity skills of students in elementary and secondary schools 

Why does this sound familiar? InfoHive subscribers will recall our easily digestible summary of the the Cyberspace Solarium Commission recommendations, including Cybersecurity Lessons from the Pandemic, released in May.

EdWeek | Congress Heightens Emphasis on K-12 Cybersecurity During COVID-19

• North Dakota’s COVID contact tracing app collected GPS data that was being sold to FourSquare
• Apple & Google contact tracing tech is relying on blue tooth technology and not GPS
• 71% of Americans have said that they would not use a contact-tracing app
• Kansas  passed emergency legislation prohibiting contact tracing that uses cellphone location data to identify or track individuals

State Scoop | Privacy concerns have states taking it slow on contact tracing apps

Where: The UK

What? UK wants to reign in hacking, especially hacking of the internet of things, like your thermostat that could come with a preset password like hello, by prohibiting weak passwords. 

Gov.UK Policy Paper | Proposals for regulating consumer smart product cyber security – call for views

The North Carolina Legislation: HB 904 (2019-2020 | NC)

The goal:  Protect the personally identifiable information of North Carolina residents- even if the business is located elsewhere

What requirements are on businesses? reasonable security procedures must be in place + 30 day notification requirements after discovery of a breech

This legislation also rolls in Equifax response legislation of free credit freezes & notification to all credit reporting agencies of freezes.

WRAL Tech Wire | States enacting protections against data breaches – here’s what NC is proposing