Secretary LaRose Launches New Cyber Defense Program
(Columbus) – Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced the successful deployment of another cyber defense program, just the latest in a series of cyber defense efforts that have made Ohio the nation's leader in cybersecurity for election administration infrastructure.
This innovative initiative strengthens the human firewall and is aimed at preventing cyber-attacks on the board of elections internal networks. The initiative, deployed by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Cyber Defense Team (CDT) offers phishing simulation training to boards of elections as an expansion of their cyber awareness training. The no-cost phishing training will send fake, suspicious emails to election staff to test their ability to identify and report fraudulent and dangerous emails.
“Cybersecurity is no longer optional for government agencies; it’s essential,” said Secretary LaRose. “As cybercrime continues to cost taxpayers millions of dollars, we’re maintaining the position we’ve earned as the nation’s leaders in cyber defense by investing in practical, proactive training that helps election officials spot threats before they become incidents.”
According to the Ohio Auditor of State, in the last three years alone, local governments experienced more than 150 cybercrime incidents, ranging from a few thousand dollars to $1.5 million.
This initiative started as a pilot program with Fayette and Adams counties and is available to the majority of Ohio’s boards of elections that utilize website and email support from our office.
Background:
Since taking office, Secretary LaRose has worked to make Ohio the national model for election cybersecurity. He was the first Secretary of State in the nation to hire a full-time Chief Information Security Officer, implement a vulnerability disclosure policy, and deploy advanced Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) across all 88 county boards of elections. For these efforts, he received the prestigious SANS Difference Maker Award in 2020.
Under the Secretary’s leadership, the office has worked with county election officials to implement an unprecedented series of seven directives establishing rigorous security standards for all 88 county boards of elections. No state has issued more security-specific protocols than Ohio during the LaRose administration. Learn more here.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office, as the front door for new business, is working to arm small businesses with the resources they need to become cybersafe through the “Are You Cyber Safe?” initiative. This includes regional cybersecurity conferences and a cybersecurity workbook.