Daily Court Reporter - News Bill launched by Attorney General’s CyberOhio Initiative signed into law
Bill launched by Attorney General’s CyberOhio Initiative signed into law
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today released the following statement regarding Senate Bill 220, the Data Protection Act sponsored by State Senators Bob Hackett (R-London) and Kevin Bacon (R-Westerville) being signed into law:
“I congratulate Senator Hackett and Senator Bacon for working with their Senate and House colleagues to pass this important bill and send it to the governor’s desk and commend the governor for signing it into law,” said Attorney General DeWine. “By encouraging Ohio business owners to take appropriate and proven steps to enhance their cybersecurity, Ohioans can be confident that their personal information will be better protected. Companies have even more incentive to invest in strong cyber security controls.”
The Data Protection Act is the first piece of legislation introduced as a result of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s CyberOhio Initiative. The measure encourages businesses to voluntarily adopt strong cybersecurity controls to protect consumer data. The legislation identifies ten different industry-recognized cybersecurity frameworks on which businesses can base their security programs. The bill previously passed the Ohio Senate on May 16, 2018. The House passed their version of the measure on June 27, 2018 and the Senate voted to concur.
“The Data Protection Act provides an incentive for small business owners to protect themselves from a data breach,” said Allen Perk, CEO of XLN SYSTEMS and member of the CyberOhio Advisory Board. “By completing predominately non-technical tasks along with just a few technical implementations, generally provided by a local computer engineer, small businesses can protect their reputation, their livelihood, and their data from being compromised and do so with only a minor investment of time and money. It’s a win-win for Ohioans and for thousands of Ohio’s small businesses.”
“Greater Cleveland Partnership member companies have increasingly identified cybersecurity as a critical issue and significant challenge," said Tim Opsitnick, Vice President and General Counsel at Technology Concepts & Design, Inc, Vice Chair of the Greater Cleveland Partnership Government Affairs Council, and Chair of the COSE Small Business Caucus. “We applaud this legislation because it is a voluntary action that recognizes the difficulty businesses have in protecting their ventures, their workforce, and those with whom they do business. In addition, provisions in the bill clearly begin to signal Ohio is 'open for business' with blockchain technologies.” Opsitnick is also a member of the CyberOhio Advisory Board.
Launched in September 2016, the goal of CyberOhio is to help foster a legal, technical, and collaborative cybersecurity environment to help Ohio businesses thrive. In addition to promoting legislation, other parts of the initiative include training opportunities for businesses, development of cybersecurity workforce personnel, and expansion of the Ohio Attorney General’s Identity Theft Unit.
The text of the Data Protection Act is available at www.legislature.ohio.gov. More information about the Attorney General's CyberOhio initiative can be found on www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
Date Published: August 22, 2018