National Governors Association Chair Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and 37 other governors signed an agreement to strengthen cybersecurity.

The agreement was signed at the National Governors Association's summer conference in Providence, Rhode Island, and the agreement includes plans to enhance cybersecurity governance, prepare and defend their states from cybersecurity events and help grow the nation’s cyber workforce.

Over the last year, Gov. McAuliffe has spearheaded an effort to strengthen state cybersecurity through Meet the Threat: States Confront the Cyber Challenge, his NGA chair’s initiative.

“The goal of my initiative as NGA chair was to elevate the importance of cybersecurity on every governor’s agenda. To do that, we had to highlight why cybersecurity was more than just an information technology issue. I am proud that, throughout the last year, we have successfully engaged governors and their states on strengthening their cyber protocols and recognizing that cybersecurity is a technology issue, but it’s also a health issue, an education issue, a public safety issue, an economic issue and a democracy issue,” Gov. McAuliffe said.

Gov. McAuliffe highlighted governors’ actions to boost cybersecurity defenses throughout the past year. “In New Mexico, Gov. Martinez signed legislation clarifying when the National Guard can be used during cyber events,” he said. “In Oregon, Gov. Brown signed an executive order to unify all cybersecurity efforts into one agency. Lastly, our incoming [NGA] chair, Gov. Sandoval, recently signed a bill to create a cyber defense center to lead all their cyber projects in Nevada.

“Since the launch of my initiative, more than 30 governors have signed an executive order, legislation or announced a cybersecurity initiative,” he continued, adding, “This has resulted in a dozen executive orders, 14 signed bills and 17 initiatives.”

https://www.nga.org/cms/news/2017/states-pledge-to-meet-the-cyber-threat