[infowar.de] USA: State legislators busy writing security laws

[Ralf Bendrath <bendrath -! - zedat - fu-berlin - de>]

Infowar.de, http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~bendrath/liste.html
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Den Bericht selber gibt es nicht online - nur auf Anfrage für
PressevertreterInnen. Siehe:
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/press/2003/pr030722hs.htm
RB


http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0728/news-states-07-28-03.asp

State legislators busy writing security laws

BY Dibya Sarkar 
July 28, 2003

At least 34 states are considering bills or have enacted laws about
security for computers and networks, according to a new report.

Since fall 2001, at least 24 states have introduced bills and 10 states
have passed laws addressing information security, according to the
report released Tuesday by the National Conference of State
Legislatures. Among the states with new statutes are Florida, Michigan,
California, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas
and Virginia.

The Task Force on Protecting Democracy released the report during the
legislature association's annual conference last week in San Francisco.
Massachusetts state senator and co-chairman of the task force Richard
Moore said recent attention has shifted to improving information system
security across state governments because legislators understand that
critical services, such as water facilities and transportation, rely
heavily on computers.

The legislature group is working with representatives from Fortune 300
companies to ensure that states don't develop a medley of security
policies and systems that would hinder economic development.

Better collaboration with the federal government and the private sector
has helped state chief information officers improve security, said
Patrick O'Donnell, task force co-chairman and the Nebraska Legislature's
clerk. "I think [we're] better prepared today than in fall 2001," he
said, though he noted that no system can be 100 percent secure.

Tuesday's report also states that since 2001, several states have passed
laws to combat driver's license counterfeiting. Although state-issued
licenses have become, in essence, de facto national identification
cards, Moore said that the group doesn't support that tag. But
legislatures are willing to impose certain standards nationwide that
will make them less vulnerable to counterfeits, he added. Currently,
seven states ? California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Texas and
West Virginia ? collect fingerprints when individuals apply for a
license, but only Georgia uses fingerprint scans to certify an
applicant's identity when issuing a replacement license. 

West Virginia is the only state to use facial recognition software to
verify applicants' identities when they renew or replace their licenses,
although Colorado officials are considering a similar system. "It's a
trend we're going to see continuing," Moore said. Tuesday's report is
the second from the legislature group's Task Force on Democracy.

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