CISA Nearing Completion of State Cybersecurity Coordinator Roster

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has recruited a total of 37 professionals for its state cybersecurity coordinators program as of the end of December, with five positions already going through selection processing, a top agency official said.

The program was established pursuant to the fiscal year 2021 defense policy bill. Coordinators across the 50-state network are meant to serve as the go-to point of contact in all state capitals.

According to Laura Delaney, deputy assistant director for the CISA’s integrated operations division, cybersecurity coordinators are critical to sharing threat information with state partners, providing the agency a valuable resource for identifying incidents that may have national impact, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

The coordinators do not adhere to a one-size-fits-all approach and instead utilize available resources to help organizations develop their plans, and provide workshops for state, local, tribal and territorial partners to raise awareness of cybersecurity best practices.

They also communicate with one another to share the diverse and unique perspectives that each state has in addressing cybersecurity problems, Delaney said, which in turn helps maintain consistency across the program as a whole.

The initial goal for CISA was to complete its roster of 50 cybersecurity coordinators before the end of 2021. The target was not achieved as CISA has yet to hire cybersecurity coordinators for Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina and Tennessee.