Cybersecurity

Lawmakers across the country are increasingly turning their attention to the quickly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. In this piece we run down some of the bills being considered in this space.

A rising number of state and federal lawmakers are crafting legislation that would restrict young kids' access to social media. But some policy experts worry that the bills will be difficult to enforce and may have unintended consequences.

Lowell, which is Massachusetts’ fifth largest city, discovered a cyber intrusion early last week, and its response saw many city systems taken offline. Meanwhile, Spartanburg County, S.C., was struck by ransomware, too.

State CIO Denis Goulet spoke at the NASCIO Midyear Conference about the relative maturity of the state’s privacy practice compared to its cybersecurity work. He’s hoping to add a CPO to the ranks very soon.

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The February ransomware attack against the Bay Area city exposed personal data and affected city systems for several weeks, but officials are now reporting significant progress in the recovery effort.

The cyber threat intelligence (CTI) team at MS-ISAC observed increased cyber attacks against U.S. state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) government organizations. To counter these threats, the Center for Internet Security (CIS) has released MDBR+, a cloud-based secure web gateway service that proactively identifies and blocks network traffic from SLTTs and private hospitals to known malicious websites.

After stopping the use of facial recognition software for more than a year amid civil liberties concerns, the Ohio attorney general’s office is once again using the technology.

Georgia is paying hackers thousands to break into a system that millions use to access assistance programs like food stamps and Medicaid, and they’ve already uncovered dozens of gaps, according to the state.

Lawmakers of both parties are eyeing legislation that would advance federal data privacy as well as measures that would address children’s online privacy. Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia have also passed privacy laws.

The measure, null, and its companion, null, are headed for final votes. Both measures attempt to give consumers the right to opt out of sharing their data for targeted online ads.

The federal agency, which is housed in the Department of Homeland Security, and allies released a guide to help communities plan for resiliency, defense and risk minimization when considering smart city initiatives.

The New Jersey Supreme Court is hearing a case where the state is arguing that Facebook should give it continuing access to user information to determine whether they're engaging in criminal activity.

The California State Auditor issued a report this week criticizing the Department of Technology for failing to guide the state’s IT needs, failing to assess agencies’ information security systems, and failing to reduce risks to IT projects.

As many still advocate for a national privacy law, experts debate where to set guidelines on how police work with constituent data. The discussion isn’t as simple as personal privacy versus community safety.

The Lake County Board of Elections is considering whether to implement poll worker management software they purchased or break the contract with the software provider amid security concerns.

Generative AI is designed to produce the unforeseen, but that doesn’t mean developers can’t predict the types of social consequences it may cause.

The Associated Press recently estimated that around two dozen U.S. lawmakers — all Democrats — still use the app from personal devices. Some have amassed sizable followings and use the app to communicate with constituents.