Kazakh parliament passes bill on info security, digital assets

ASTANA. Nov 30 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's Senate, the upper house of parliament, considered in the second reading and approved a bill introducing amendments and addenda to a number of Kazakh legislative acts on information security, informatization and digital assets at a plenary session on Thursday.

As reported, this bill aims to enhance legislation concerning information security, personal data protection, and the regulation of digital mining activities.

The amendments impose a ban on collecting and processing paper copies of identity documents, except when integration with government information systems is lacking or technological means cannot be used for identification, the specific Senate committee said.

The amendments also require that immigrants provide copies of identification documents to protect national interests and ensure national security.

The authorized body in the field of personal data protection, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry will supervise compliance with personal data protection laws.

The amendments also establish the procedure for revoking, suspending and renewing the license for digital mining activities.

Under the amendments, every operator is required to promptly report any personal data breaches to the regulatory authorities within three days of the breach being detected, Majilis deputy Ekaterina Smyshlyayeva said.

The bill also proposes legal regulation of the institute of "white hackers" and a Kazakh version of the Bug Bounty platform.

Another provision of the bill is devoted to the creation of a state information security center, which will oversee only government informatization facilities, she said. Around 350 state informatization facilities are operating as of now.

The center will operate under the National Security Committee's State Technical Service, Smyshlyayeva said.

In addition, a software source code repository for e-government products will be set up based on the State Technical Service. This provides for the managing their versions, she said.