Posted: | February 23, 2022 04:32 PM |
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From: | Representative Craig Williams |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | PANG Cyber Security |
Shortly, I will be introducing legislation to allow our Pennsylvania National Guard to provide functional support for cybersecurity needs across the commonwealth. Pennsylvania is currently home to two military cybersecurity teams: PA Army National Guard Defensive Cyber Operations and the PA Air National Guard 112th Cyberspace Operations Squadron. The men and women of these units are dedicated to the dual mission of ensuring cyber preparedness and providing rapid cyber incident response. My legislation will allow the commonwealth to mobilize our experts through a special state duty status to protect our vital systems and securing personal information. Pennsylvania is working hard to expand our infrastructure in both the transportation and energy sectors, which brings with that expansion an additional emphasis on systems security. The rapid expansion of our unemployment system has also highlighted the need for robust data protection within our state agencies. This bill will also allow trained military cybersecurity experts to support requests from state agencies in need of immediate assistance or training. Further, the bill will allow the Guard to receive requests and provide support to non-government entities with cybersecurity education and training exercise assistance as needed. The bill directs the department to provide the Governor an annual report to the General Assembly setting forth the number and type of operations and training completed. We have trained the Guard to protect us from cybersecurity threats, and it is time for us to support and utilize the mission we asked them to do. Thank you for joining me in support of this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB2412