Andrade Passes Bill To Improve Cybersecurity of State Agencies

CHICAGO, Ill. – In an effort to protect public data and improve the cybersecurity of state agencies, state Rep. Jaime Andrade, D-Chicago, passed legislation out of the House that would create a new division under the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) to identify cybersecurity flaws and data breach risks.

“Residents of the state are trusting us with personal data and information and we need to ensure the security of that information,” Andrade said.  “There has been an increase in the hacking of public information over the past few years and we need to work proactively in Illinois to improve the cybersecurity and protect the data of state agencies.”

Andrade’s proposal, House Bill 3737, creates the Division of Cybersecurity Inspection (DCI) under the DoIT. DCI will have authority to review all state agency websites under the jurisdiction of the governor to find security flaws and identify data breach risks.

“By examining the current status of cybersecurity and potential for data breaches of state agency websites we can work to stay one step ahead of the cyber-criminals looking to profit from residents’ private data,” Andrade said. “I am encouraged that the proposal we met with strong bipartisan support in the House and am committed to continuing to work with my colleagues in the Senate and the Governor to ensure that this proposal is enacted into law.”

House Bill 3737 recently passed the House with bipartisan support and is awaiting further consideration in the Senate.