State Lawmakers Concerned About Cyber Security

Sacramento, CA — California lawmakers are looking at ways to beef-up cyber security among state agencies.

A recent report from the state’s Auditor’s office pointed out several recent state breaches, partially due to ineffective training among individual agencies. The Associated Press reports that 73 of 77 agencies that were reviewed last year had holes in its cyber security systems.  These agencies have access to the personal information of several Californians, such as addresses and social security numbers.

At an information hearing in Sacramento, Assembly member Jacqui Irwin, Chair of the state’s Assembly Cybersecurity Committee, stated, “The place we start is with the Auditor’s report and looking at what the departments are doing, and if they have the proper security in place. We just need to stay on this. There is going to be another hearing in August, and we will see how the departments are moving forward.”

Other lawmakers at the hearing referred to the auditor’s report as “horrible” and “unacceptable.”

The Department of Information Technology has requested an additional $1.5 million this year to hire 11 additional employees to focus on auditing the efforts of state agencies to protect personal information.