State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Tinley Park) is proud to announce the state of Illinois will be observing National Cybersecurity Awareness Month throughout October. “National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a good opportunity for Illinois residents to educate themselves on new laws and scams to protect their personal information,” Hastings said. “There are a number of resources available and new laws that will help us meet the technological challenges of the 21st century.” … The 2016 presidential elections were plagued with nationwide security breaches to 21 states’ online voting systems, including Illinois’ voter registration database. Last week, Hastings announced. Homeland Security confirmed Russian hackers were behind the breach.
Hastings’ new bipartisan law, Senate Bill 707, institutes proper procedures and regulations for state agencies to report and remedy cybersecurity breaches that compromise confidential information.
“Elections are the bedrock of our nation’s democratic values, and its critical for our citizens to know their vote is counted,” Hastings said “This new law mandates Illinois residents be informed of any security breach affecting state agencies and takes steps to prevent similar security breaches from happening in the future.”
As the Chairman of the Illinois State Senate’s Committee on Cybersecurity, Hastings plans to hold additional hearings this fall to discuss legislative remedies for cybersecurity issues and to review further updates from the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Full Article: Sen. Michael E. Hastings works to make sure Illinois meets challenges of the 21st century – Daily Southtown.