ST. PAUL, MN – Meeting with the National Governors Association (NGA) in Rhode Island this week, Governor Mark Dayton today signed onto “A Compact to Improve State Cybersecurity,” an effort by 38 governors to improve state cybersecurity. The compact covers three main areas of cybersecurity, which Minnesota is already leading on: (1) build cybersecurity governance; (2) prepare for and defend against cybersecurity threats; and (3) develop a cybersecurity workforce.

 

“Strong cybersecurity is critical to protect our citizens, our businesses, and our state from attacks online,” said Governor Dayton. “I am proud that Minnesota has been a leader in cybersecurity, but we must do more. As these threats increase in volume and sophistication, we must invest in critical upgrades, technology, and talent to keep Minnesotans safe and secure online.”

 

Minnesota has developed a five-year strategic cybersecurity plan for the management, control, and protection of state systems and data to protect the privacy of all Minnesotans. This plan was vetted by private sector cybersecurity leaders in Minnesota who all agree the plan must be implemented as soon as possible. 

 

“The State of Minnesota has a tremendous responsibility to protect the private data of 5.5 million Minnesotans, and this data is increasingly at risk for sophisticated cyber-attacks,” said Minnesota IT Services Commissioner Tom Baden. “Committing to the NGA’s compact to improve state cybersecurity paves the path forward to work collaboratively with our legislature, cities, counties, and federal partners to enhance our defenses against these threats.”

 

The cybersecurity compact follows outgoing NGA Chair Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s Meet the Threat: States Confront the Cyber Challenge initiative of the past year. The compact signed today includes both Democrat and Republican governors from states across the country.

 

Over the last three years, Governor Dayton proposed historic investments to improve the State of Minnesota’s cybersecurity programs across state government. These $125 million investments would have allowed the state to protect against many of our most pressing threats through investments in critical upgrades, technology, and talent to keep Minnesotans safe and secure online. Unfortunately, the Legislature has not agreed to the Governor’s proposed funding to enhance the state’s cybersecurity.

 

To see details on the cybersecurity investments Governor Dayton proposed this past legislative session, click here. 

 

Attacks on state systems are intended to steal citizens’ private data, disrupt government operations, or use government resources to conduct illicit or illegal operations. The number of these attacks has increased significantly, and they are now more sophisticated and more targeted than ever.

 

Minnesota IT Services protects more than 35,000 users and the private data of 5.5 million Minnesotans, but our systems are probed or attacked more than 3 million times each day. Fortunately, our state has not yet experienced a major attack that has exposed Minnesotan’s private data, but more must be done to keep Minnesotans safe and secure online.

 

That’s why Minnesota has developed a five-year strategic cybersecurity plan for the management, control, and protection of state systems and data to protect the privacy of all Minnesotans. This plan was vetted by private sector cybersecurity leaders in Minnesota who all agree the plan must be implemented as soon as possible. The state cybersecurity plan to solidify our cyber-defenses must be funded and implemented aggressively. Unfortunately, the Legislature did not fund Governor Dayton’s new budget proposals this session to improve the State of Minnesota’s cybersecurity defenses.

 

For more information, visit the State of Minnesota’s Cybersecurity webpage.