State officials are urging federal lawmakers to reconsider several bills aimed at improving cybersecurity.
When Connecticut based Anthem announced a major data breach earlier this year, Senate democrats introduced a bill that strengthened the state's response to cyber threats. Late last month Governor Dannel Malloy signed the bill into law, which Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff called one of the strongest cybersecurity laws in the nation.
“It deals with encrypting information, it talks about multiple methods in order to be able to very confidential and private and sensitive information,” said Duff.
Senator Duff said pending cyber security bills on the federal level will preempt and undermine Connecticut's law. For example, state Attorney General George Jepsen's office has the power to investigate the hundreds of data breaches that happen in Connecticut each year. All but one of the federal cyber security bills would strip state's attorneys general of investigative powers.
Attorney General Jepsen calls that a "critical mistake," and said individual states have become very effective at investigating data breaches.
“It is just inconceivable to me that the federal government could do as thorough a job on the ground as we can in Connecticut,” said Jepsen.
Senator Duff asked Connecticut residents to sign a petition asking Connecticut’s Congressional Delegation to reject this type of legislation.
Earlier this month, Attorney General George Jepsen and attorneys general from 46 states sent a letter to Congressional leadership asking them to preserve states’ abilities to investigate data breaches in cyber security legislation.
