After a data breach that affected more than 1 million people in Washington State, legislators introduced two bills. One aims to strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure while the other wants to change data collection.
As reported by Governing.com, “If passed, the two bills heard in committee Tuesday would boost cybersecurity at state government agencies. A bill requested by Gov. Jay Inslee would create an Office of Cybersecurity to work with state agencies to create security standards and respond to major cybersecurity incidents at state agencies. A second, Republican-sponsored bill would require the Employment Security Department and the Department of Labor and Industries to examine and potentially replace their use of full social security numbers.”
Creating agencies to handle cybercrime is necessary infrastructure in a ransomware rampant world. Additionally, the restriction of data collection could be an effective step in identity theft prevention. Local government, schools, hospitals, and other places that hold sensitive personal data are always a hot target for cybercriminals.
If passed, this could help set a precedent for the rest of the country on data collection and cybersecurity response.
