Kane County Reporter

Rep. Keith Wheeler stresses the importance of being prepared for the persistent threat of cyber attacks.

State Representative Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) said that this new law will help Illinois protect itself from cyber attacks on Jun 6th.

"It is vital that we strengthen our preparedness and response posture to protect against the persistent threat of cyber incidents," Rep. Wheeler said. "In 2020 there was a major data breach at the Illinois Department of Employment Security that compromised the personal information of more than 32,000 Illinois residents; and the Illinois State Board of Elections previously reported that they are under 'constant threat' from hackers after their database was targeted by international cyber criminals in 2016. With this bill now becoming law, we are shoring up Illinois' ability to respond swiftly to cyber incidents like any other disaster."

Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Keith Wheeler introduced House Bill 4783, which will amend the Disaster Relief Act to ensure that the state can respond effectively to cyber incidents, according to a press release. The legislation passed both the House and Senate unanimously this spring, and Gov. Pritzker has now signed the bill into law. This new law will allow the governor to utilize the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund in response to cyber attacks.

"The risk of attacks on our cybersecurity is a very real, persistent threat," Rep. Wheeler added. "Our dedicated professionals at the Illinois Emergency Management Agency do an outstanding job responding to a wide range of natural and man-made dangers to public safety 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In this digital age, they need to have the ability to respond to cyber incidents on a moment's notice and act swiftly to protect Illinois residents."

Illinois' Department of Employment Security experienced a data breach in May 2020 that exposed private information, including Social Security numbers, of 32,483 Illinoisans who had applied for unemployment insurance, Illinois Policy reported. The data breach resulted in at least one case of identity theft, in which a St. Clair County woman experienced fraudulent charges to her bank account.