The status of new cybersecurity laws proposed in West Virginia

As employers in the private and public sectors adjust to the advent of flexible work over the last two years, they're simultaneously trying to protect their organizations from attackers looking to steal and sell data.

2021 was a year defined by significant cyberattacks that crippled infrastructure and shut down hospitals, schools, and municipal governments. It's the same year the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies gasoline to millions living in the Northeast U.S., was hobbled by a ransomware attack that triggered a gas panic and elevated prices for consumers.

And lawmakers were paying attention—passing dozens of laws in 2022 aimed at training workers, securing government agencies, and funneling money into cybersecurity education programs.

Drata compiled a list of new cybersecurity-related legislation in West Virginia through February 2023 based on data collected by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

States that passed the most cybersecurity legislation in the past year:

#1. Maryland - 8 laws enacted

#2. Florida - 4

#3 (tie). Virginia - 3

#3 (tie). Kentucky - 3

West Virginia new cybersecurity laws in 2022
- Bills enacted: 1
- Bills failed: 1
- Bills vetoed: 0

WV SB 529
- Description: Relates to computer science education in schools, recognizes a need to provide coursework on computational thinking, block based programming, text based programming, network communication, computer architecture, coding, application development, digital literacy, and cyber security, requires the board to update and build upon prior computer science education plans and policy to include additional subject matter, removes obsolete language.
- Read more about the bill here