Earlier this month, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon letter He asked the state Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee for $6.8 million to create 37 new cybersecurity jobs.
If approved, funding would come from the state’s fiscal year 2024 budget and $2.3 million would be allocated to create 14 new cybersecurity jobs in the state. Enterprise Technology Services Departmentis responsible for overseeing the state’s technology projects and managing digital services.
The remaining $4.5 million will go toward filling non-cybersecurity roles across state agencies, such as customer support and IT operations jobs, to better support statewide cybersecurity efforts .
In his letter, Gordon wrote that Wyoming’s cybersecurity team is smaller than teams in other states with similar rural populations.For example, the estimated population of Alaska is 730,000there are 11 cybersecurity jobs within state government and approximately 585,000 Wyoming residents. United States Census BureauAlthough the state is the least populated state in the nation, there are only six people in state government in roles dedicated to cybersecurity.
“This disparity highlights the critical need to strengthen cyber defenses, emphasizing a proactive and robust approach to cybersecurity to effectively monitor, detect, and quickly respond to potential threats. ,” Gordon wrote, adding that since the Enterprise Technology Services Agency was established in 2001, year 2012, more than 130 IT jobs were eliminated from state agencies. “Such vigilance is essential to safeguarding digital assets and protecting the sensitive information they contain.”
“Statewide” Cyber in Wyoming
Tim Sheehan, who is serving as Wyoming’s interim chief information officer for the second time, told StateScoop that the governor’s funding request to expand the state’s cybersecurity team is a huge step forward for the state, including last year’s incident in the small town of Rawlins. He said this comes in response to an increase in overall cyber threats. November.
On Nov. 8, the City of Rollins was notified of the potential danger by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Investigations. violation City computer server’s. Although the scope of the potential breach was unknown at the time of the notification, Sheehan said a coordinated response by federal, state and local agencies prevented the hackers from gaining a foothold in the state’s networks.
Sheehan said the thwarted cyber attack, although not successful, underscores the governor’s urgency to expand Wyoming’s cybersecurity team.
“The governor believes in “statewide” government cyber protection; [wants] We need to come together and create a framework that protects state and local jurisdictions and marshal those resources to figure out how we can solve this problem as a united front in Wyoming,” Sheehan said. Told.
In addition to the $6.8 million requested by the governor, Sheehan said he would also like to use some of the funds to: money The state receives funding from CISA’s State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program.
Sheehan said these grants will support cybersecurity awareness training for state and local officials who may not be as knowledgeable about cybersecurity because local priorities often differ.
“When you go to rural America, they don’t focus on what fishing is. They focus on, ‘We’re big agriculture.’ They are out on the ranch, taking care of the livestock, especially this time of year,” Sheehan said.
Cyber “normalization”
Sheehan said the Department of Enterprise and Technology Services is trying to “normalize” cyber events, classifying them using the same vocabulary as other emergencies that similarly require immediate government response. .
“For us, a cyber event or incident is no different than a flood, fire, or other natural disaster,” Sheehan explained. “A response is a response, get your feet on the ground, get everyone around the table, and lock it down.”
As part of normalizing cyber incidents, Mr. Sheehan said, he hopes to raise local awareness that cyber incidents are a credible threat to the safety of Wyoming residents and the state, even if the state’s local governments fail to recognize them. He said that includes disseminating it to state agencies.
“We need to help communicate that not only to government agencies, but also to local jurisdictions. ‘Because you’re small or because you think you don’t have anything important. That’s right.’” Sheehan said of local governments that may not consider themselves high-value targets. “And we have interconnected systems, so they may not necessarily be chasing you, but they can get to the next system and pivot across the state. We want to. That’s the goal there.”
Sheehan expects the Legislature to approve Gordon’s funding request by the end of the legislative session in March, at which point funding will be available immediately to fill 14 new cybersecurity positions within the department. He said it would be possible.
“Wyoming is a rural state. We have a large rural population, and unfortunately we have a lot of local governments that don’t even have the resources to do what they need to do, let alone hire IT people,” Sheehan said. said.
New employees scheduled for June 2023 presidential order establish Cyber support response teama cybersecurity emergency response team with members spread across state agencies.