Representative William Lacy Clay,chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Information Policy, Census and the National Archives Subcommittee, introduced a new data breach bill (H.R. 4791) on December 18. The legislation would require agencies to have security policies and plans to protect personal information, as well as data breach reporting requirements for Government agencies.

“OMB recognizes risks to personal information and risks introduced by new technologies are increasing,” said Karen Evans, the Office of Management and Budget’s administrator for e-government and information technology.

“We look forward to working with Congress and agencies to strengthen the Federal government’s information security and privacy programs within the existing framework created by the Federal Information Security Management Act.”

This new bill would require Government agencies to encrypt personal data and to establish minimum requirements for protection of information on mobile devices. It would also levvy security requirements for peer-to-peer networks and for contractors.

Representative Clay would also want inspectors to audit agency systems and the systems of its contractors. They would also penalize contractors for $500,000 or more if they do not implement a security program to Government standards.

Via fcw Tags: data breach, data breach bill, legislation, bill, hr 4791, law, identity theft, information security, it security, government security