Kendall County Times

State Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) said that House Bill 4783 will help Illinois protect itself from cyber attacks and shield itself from the constant threat of hackers.

"It is vital that we strengthen our preparedness and response posture to protect against the persistent threat of cyber incidents," 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 cybercriminals in 2016. With this bill now becoming law, we are shoring up Illinois' ability to respond swiftly to cyber incidents like any other disaster."

House Bill 4783, introduced by Wheeler, 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 signed the bill into law. This new law will allow the governor to use the Disaster Response and Recovery Fund whenever there are cyber attacks.

"The risk of attacks on our cybersecurity is a very real, persistent threat," Wheeler said. "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. There was at least one case of identity theft as a result of this data breach, in which a St. Clair County woman experienced fraudulent charges to her bank account.