By Chetrice Mosley-Romero

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and this year’s theme is “See Yourself in Cyber” and demonstrates that while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people.

The celebration comes as Indiana’s ascension in cybersecurity collaboration – as a top-tier state nationally – is continuing to rise at a rapid, yet steady pace; progress driven by the unprecedented release of a second, three-year statewide strategic plan and the success that’s being achieved with two unique programs focused on partnering with local government and municipalities while providing a greater level of training and resources for the benefit of all Hoosiers.

Local Government Focus Features Community Conversation Tour, Cyber Ready Pilot Program

As part of the state’s ongoing commitment to supporting local government, the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT), led by Tracy Barnes, Chief Information Officer for the State of Indiana, is continuing with its 92-county community conversation tour. At each stop, IOT representatives have met with county, city, and town officials to discuss various information security topics and the free and low-cost services available to local governments from IOT. To learn more, visit: https://on.in.gov/IOTlocal.

A second local government initiative is the Cyber Ready Communities (CRC) pilot program. As the State of Indiana’s Cybersecurity Program Director, it is my pleasure to visit and work closely with local government leaders in four Hoosier communities – Jasper, Ind., and Dubois County; Nashville, Ind., and Brown County; Kokomo, Ind., and Howard County; Carmel, Ind., and Hamilton County.

The CRC program is centered on achieving two goals. Primarily, the purpose is to work closely with the communities to be cyber ready at every local government department level by changing the cybersecurity culture and connecting those communities to additional state, federal, and private partners, resources, and services. The second goal is to help inform the IECC (Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity) and state leaders as they continue to develop additional programs to help in partnering with local governments.

Emergency Manager Cybersecurity Toolkit  

The centerpiece of all things cyber in the Hoosier state is the Indiana Cybersecurity Hub website. Featured among the many resources, best practices and tips that are available for free on the website, there is a great deal of “hands on” information, designed to provide local governments for being prepared, including the Emergency Manager Cybersecurity Toolkit; a free, downloadable “playbook” designed to help take out some of the complexities related to cyber and provide an invaluable resource with the tools to help local governments prepare for an cyber incident.

IECC Strategic Plan

Within the past year, the IECC presented to Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, the 2021 Indiana Cybersecurity Strategic Plan – highlighting the cyber policies and initiatives that the Council are, now, actively working on and focused on completing in the years ahead. As a part of that work,  the Council also completed the State of Cyber Report – 2017-2021– outlining all the cybersecurity policies and initiatives that have been completed since 2017 in Indiana by the Council, as well as throughout the state by colleges and universities and small businesses. The Council completed nearly 80 percent of the deliverables and objectives as part of its “first of its kind” 2018 strategic plan.

For additional information regarding the latest cybersecurity news and trends, visit the Indiana Cybersecurity Hub website and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.