H82 • 2025

An Act relative to cyberattack response in Massachusetts

Technology

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Sponsor: Bradley H. Jones, Jr.
Last action: 2025-09-17
Official status: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act relative to cyberattack response in Massachusetts

An Act relative to cyberattack response in Massachusetts By Representative Jones of North Reading, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

An Act relative to cyberattack response in Massachusetts By Representative Jones of North Reading, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
82) of Bradley H.
Jones, Jr., and others relative to cyberattack responses.
Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2025-09-17 House
Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means
2025-06-30 Joint
Hearing scheduled for 07/10/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2
2025-02-27 House
Referred to the committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity
2025-02-27 Senate
Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act relative to cyberattack response in Massachusetts
By Representative Jones of North Reading, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 82) of Bradley H. Jones, Jr., and others relative to cyberattack responses. Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity.
Status:
Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

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Bill H.82

SECTION 1. Section 1 of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended by Chapter 54 of the Acts of 2014, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “causes” the following:-

“; or by cybersecurity attack or threat thereof that affects the commonwealth’s critical infrastructure, information systems owned or operated by the commonwealth, or other infrastructure or cyber systems deemed necessary and at risk by the governor.”

SECTION 2. Section 1 of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended by Chapter 54 of the Acts of 2014, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Civil defense” the following definitions:-

“Critical Infrastructure” shall mean the systems and assets within the commonwealth, either physical or virtual, so vital to the commonwealth or the United States that the incapacitation or destruction of such systems would have a debilitating impact on physical security, economic security, public health or safety, or any combination of those matters. This can include, but is not limited to: election systems, transportation infrastructure, water, gas, and electric utilities.

“Cybersecurity attack” shall mean an attack, via electronic means, targeting the commonwealth’s use of cyberspace for the purpose of disrupting, disabling, destroying, or maliciously controlling a computing environment or infrastructure; or destroying the integrity of the data or stealing controlled information.

“Cyber System” shall mean the network of hardware, software, procedures, and people put in place by companies, individuals, or governments that can connect to the Internet.

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