(LAWRENCE, Ind.) – You can now see for yourself the details of the state’s new cybersecurity plan.
Indiana’s cybersecurity council created 20 subcommittees for different sectors, from utilities to schools. The final 2,000-page report sets timelines for those sectors to develop plans targeting their specific needs, from utilities to schools.
The report says election officials have already upgraded security ahead of next month’s election, adding authentication protocols, hardening security, and producing an Election Day emergency management manual. But election security is also the one sector which sets a specific numerical goal for personal vigilance, calling for a 30{ec4469d41b0b7bdea208b8171ec4991583ff3a026010edcbf3170c07ae1b643f}reduction in the frequency of election workers clicking on phishing emails. The state may conduct an internal test in the next two years, sending its own phishing emails to election offices to see how many get through.
The plan calls for Ivy Tech to develop a cybersecurity curriculum for business executives, and for the Indiana National Guard to assess the security of critical infrastructure.
And the plan sees economic opportunity in the age of the hacker. By January, the state will produce a plan for attracting cybersecurity companies to Indiana, with a marketing plan to follow later in the year. The report sets a goal of being home to 5{ec4469d41b0b7bdea208b8171ec4991583ff3a026010edcbf3170c07ae1b643f} of the cybersecurity market by 2023.
The report says a study by Verizon found hackers account for nearly half of all security breaches. Viruses make up 30{ec4469d41b0b7bdea208b8171ec4991583ff3a026010edcbf3170c07ae1b643f} more, and one in six are phishing attempts — tricking you into clicking an email link loaded with malware. Small businesses were the most frequent target, but a quarter of cyberattacks targeted health care providers, and one in seven targeted government agencies.
The cybersecurity council approved the plan nearly two weeks ago, but waited to release it till the public till after Governor Holcomb had time to review it.
(Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
