At a recent meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA), outgoing NGA Chair Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) provided an update to his year-long initiative on strengthening state cybersecurity defenses.
Beginning in 2016, McAuliffe launched a project, titled Meet the Threat: States Confront the Cyber Challenge, that aimed to elevate the importance of cybersecurity for every governor in the country.
“Since the launch of my initiative, more than 30 governors have signed an executive order, legislation or announced a cybersecurity initiative,” McAuliffe said. “This has resulted in a dozen executive orders, 14 signed bills and 17 initiatives.”
Pointing to successes from specific governors, McAuliffe referenced a New Mexico bill, signed by Gov. Susana Martinez (D-NM), that clarified when the National Guard could be used during cyber events.
“In Oregon, [Gov. Kate Brown (D-OR)] signed an executive order to unify all cybersecurity efforts into one agency,” McAuliffe said. “Lastly, our incoming [NGA Chair Gov. Brian Sandoval (R-NV)], recently signed a bill to create a cyber defense center to lead all their cyber projects in Nevada.”
In addition to highlighting his cyber initiative successes, McAuliffe announced that 38 governors had signed onto a compact to improve state-based cybersecurity by strengthening governance, preparation, and defense, along with helping grow the nation’s cyber workforce.