(Submitted by State Sen. Theresa Gavarone)
State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, announced the unanimous passage of Senate Bill 52 in the Ohio House. The legislation will create the Ohio Cyber Reserve—a new division of the Ohio National Guard that specializes in cybersecurity.
The new force will consist of qualified, civilian cybersecurity experts and maintain regional Cyber Response Teams capable of deterring, mitigating and remedying cyber attacks against our local governments, businesses, critical infrastructure and citizens.
Additionally, the bill includes stronger auditing requirements that will ensure the accuracy and integrity of elections while also giving Ohioans increased confidence when submitting a ballot.
“Almost daily we hear about another government or business that was attacked by cyber hackers,” Gavarone said. “This legislation is going to allow Ohio to fight back against hackers so that our citizens will be better protected from their devastating attacks.”
Gavarone worked jointly with numerous interested parties, including Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Adjutant General John Harris and the Ohio Association of Election Officials, a bipartisan organization representing employees of county boards of elections.
Senate Bill 52 will return to the Senate for a vote on concurrence before heading to the governor for a signature.
