Massachusetts has been a leader in the high-tech sector for decades, and President Joe Biden is tapping the experience of some of our political leaders to keep the internet safe from misinformation and security threats.
"Tech in various forms is an ever-more-present and ever-more-essential tool in daily life." said former Gov. Deval Patrick, who co-chairs Biden's Future of Tech commission. "But it is not accessible to everyone, and it is not used responsibly by everyone."
Biden has tasked the commission with delivering recommendations about equity, innovation, safety and privacy online. Patrick spoke those issues alongside his successor, Gov. Charlie Baker, at a Harvard-produced virtual town hall on security Tuesdays.
Baker said he's had to deal with the evolution of small time hackers into big time security threats at the state level.
"It's now a nation-state game," the governor said. "It's incredibly well financed. Some of it's about outright theft, and some of it is literally just more about trouble and mayhem. I think it's an enormous challenge."
Baker disclosed that a ransomware attack on a Registry of Motor Vehicles vendor in March is what caused the state's vehicle inspection system to go offline.
Patrick and the commission will work through the summer before making recommendations to Biden on whether the government should be more active in regulating online activity and assuring security.
"Our task is to gather data and views from a wide range of perspectives in places, screening out as much of the political background noise as possible and to recommend tech policy for the Biden administration — as well as who, in government, in the private sector or in collaboration across sectors, should take responsibility for implementing it," Patrick said of the group's work.
The commission will report back to Biden this year about better securing crucial technology, providing online access to more Americans and potentially regulating social media.
