COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio is moving to strengthen its cyber defenses by creating a new unit tasked with responding when local governments are digitally attacked, under a new law signed on Friday by Gov. Mike DeWine.
Senate Bill 52 creates a cyber reserve force under the direction of the Ohio Adjutant General, which also oversees the Ohio National Guard.
Similar to the National Guard, members of the cyber force could be activated in response to an emergency, but otherwise would work their normal jobs. But unlike the National Guard, cyber reserve forces will be civilians.
Cyber attacks on local governments have increased in recent years. Northeast Ohio examples include Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where in April 2019 screens displaying flight and baggage information were disabled for days following a ransomware attack, and in January 2019, when hackers disabled Akron’s 311 system during a major snowstorm.
“This is a persistent threat, and we have to continuously evolve our approach to protecting our critical infrastructure when it comes to cyber,” Ohio Adjutant General John Harris said during a bill-signing ceremony in the governor’s Statehouse office.
The bill, backed by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, also has an elections component. It requires the secretary of state’s office to hire an information security chief and makes the secretary of state a member of a state committee that helps develop Ohio’s cyber-security plans. And, it requires local boards of elections to conduct post-elections audits by hand-counting ballots or reviewing paper trails of electronic voting machines.
LaRose said the new force will position Ohio to be ready “not only to respond to cyber incidents that occur at boards of elections, but at any entity and local government or other critical infrastructure.”
“It’s really exciting, first in the nation kind of stuff,” he said.
The Ohio Cyber Reserve wouldn’t be paid unless they are summoned for active duty. The new law sets aside $100,000 to fund the reserve in 2020, and another $550,000 for 2021.
Harris said the cyber reserve also will help local governments test for weaknesses and perform outreach with students interested in entering the field of cybersecurity.
LaRose, who took office in January, previously introduced a version in the bill in 2018 while a member of the state senate. The final version was sponsored by state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, a Toledo-area Republican.
Officials said they will move to hire cyber reserve members immediately, and that they could have the unit ready to go in 30 to 60 days.
Among those who attended Friday’s ceremonial bill signing in Columbus was Cuyahoga County Republican Party Chairman Rob Frost, a Cuyahoga County board of elections member who also serves as president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials.