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n January 2020, a bipartisan group of United States senators introduced legislation that would require the Department of Homeland Security to select cyber security leaders for each state. This legislation comes in the face of growing cyber threats to local, state and national governments.
What is the Goal of Appointing State Cyber Security Leaders?
The Cybersecurity State Coordinator Act of 2020 aims to bolster government response to cyber incidents. These cyber security leaders would:
- Be responsible to help all levels of government to prepare for, prevent and respond to cyberattacks
- Raise awareness of financial, technical and operational resources available from the federal government to non-federal entities
- Support training and planning for continuity of operations after cyber incidents occur
- Assist non-federal entities in facilitating vulnerability disclosure programs consistent with federal standards
Why is it Being Proposed?
Ransomware Attacks
There have been numerous ransomware attacks on cities and other government entities over the last few years. These attacks can effectively shutdown the entities they target, which can obviously have disastrous consequences.
Election Interference
There have also been numerous instances of suspected election interference from foreign countries. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, most people would agree that this is generally a bad thing.
Will it Pass?
At the time of writing, it’s unsure. The bill has not yet passed the Senate or the House. However, since it does have considerable bipartisan support, it’s not unreasonable to think that your state could have a new cyber security leader within the next few months or years.
Be sure to keep an eye out for more news regarding the Cybersecurity State Coordinator Act of 2020. It could have a positive overall impact on cyber security as a whole.
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