State representatives urge passage of cybersecurity bill

State Reps. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), Seth Grove (R-York), and Jason Ortitay (R-Washington/Allegheny) are urging the advancement of House Bill 1704, a cybersecurity bill.

The bill has been in the House State Government Committee since its introduction in July 2017 and empowers the Office of Information Technology (OIT), which was created in 2016 by an executive order by Gov. Tom Wolf. House Bill 1704 additionally grants the OIT director elements of financial oversight that are not currently in place.

The urgency comes after the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services experienced a security breach two months ago. The breach exposed the employment information, citizenship, dates of birth, and full names of more than 2,000 individuals.

The breach revealed the state’s aging, outdated infrastructure, Grove said.

“Our bill would mandate that Pennsylvania’s cybersecurity standards at least match industry standards, require more frequent testing of our security systems, and establish a committee that would meet quarterly to evaluate emerging cyber threats,” Phillips-Hill said. “We are currently not taking seriously the damage a cyberattack could inflict, nor are we adequately guarding the valuable commodity our present system of cyber defense is called upon to protect.”

The bill would have prevented fiscal mismanagement in the Department of Revenue or Unemployment Compensation call centers, cosponsor Ortitay said.

A similar bill is under consideration in the Senate.