The state of Idaho’s new Cybersecurity Task Force holds its first meeting Wednesday afternoon. Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter created the group through executive order in July. Lieutenant Governor Brad Little will chair the task force. Little says every government entity in Idaho, from statewide agencies to school districts, is spending money on cybersecurity. But he says they are largely on their own on how to go about it.
“We’re trying to establish best practices from a holistic statewide standpoint, to protect all our agencies but also our consumers, and taxpayers and state employees' data,” Little says.
Governor Otter assigned the group several other tasks besides establishing best practices. Those include identifying weaknesses in the state’s technology systems.
The Cybersecurity Task Force has members from the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security, the Idaho State Police, the Department of Administration and other state agencies, as well as Idaho colleges and universities. It will also have participation from federal agencies and private sector specialists.
Little says securing the state’s information systems is more complicated than buying software or hiring a consultant. That’s why, he says, a task force is needed to study it.
Little says it is the executive branch’s responsibility to ensure the security of Idaho citizens, and these days that has to include cybersecurity. He used this reporter as an example.
“We need to make sure the weak link to get to Adam Cotterell’s security isn’t through some state agency, whether it’s the Fish and Game license that he bought, or his driver’s license or whatever it might be,” Little says.
Find Adam Cotterell on Twitter @cotterelladam
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