14 DAY TRIAL // It’s been seven months since the first reports about NSA’s activities have been made public and there’s been absolutely no changes when it comes to legislation in the United States. The laws remain the same, the Patriot Act still hasn’t been modified and the FISA court keeps stamping the file allowing the NSA to collect metadata.
So, with several bills pending in Congress, two senators are trying to fix things in their own state. California’s Ted Lieu and Joel Anderson introduced a bill that would put a stop to state agencies assisting the National Security Agency to collect any type of information without a warrant.
The state-level proposal seeks to compel state agencies, officials and even corporations from offering assistance with the warrantless surveillance that the NSA practices so often.
Of course, this could put corporations in a tight spot since helping the NSA would put them in violation of Californian law, but not following the FISA orders would also be unlawful.
Will the bill pass? Well, it remains to be seen, not only if it will be approved, but also if California will be able to implement it.
“Policies and legislation alone will never stop motivated cybercriminals or nation-states from data theft or surveillance. Organizations can pass laws dictating restrictions or boundaries, but strong technology and security protections are also required,” Jeff Hudson, CEO of security company Venafi, told Softpedia.
Hudson believes that businesses and government entities need to take security upon themselves and intellectual property protection shouldn’t be entrusted to politicians.
“Valuable and often regulated corporate, government and personal information is sought after and stolen in record amounts on a regular basis, despite a wide range of laws that forbid it. If enterprises and agencies do not take necessary technology steps to protect data and IP, it will continue to be stolen at the accelerated pace we are experiencing,” he said.