Nevada strengthens cyber security efforts

CARSON CITY – Nevada officials on Monday took steps to strengthen the state’s abilities to respond to cyber threats by outlining a plan that brings together multiple agencies and resources. The plan was developed during a meeting of the Nevada Commission on Homeland Security led by Gov. Steve Sisolak.

The cyber-attack planning comes at a time when the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is at alert due to Russia’s cyber-attacks on the Ukrainian government and infrastructure.

Neither CISA or Nevada’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM) have any credible threats at this time.

“The State does not have any actionable intelligence for a threat to Nevada,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “This group will aggressively address the potential needs to protect residents and visitors given the current geopolitical landscape.”

Nevada’s DEM will lead the state’s geopolitical cyber awareness efforts and implement the plan, which includes a policy group, state emergency operations center and an information-sharing platform.

Information sharing will take place between state and federal experts and “essential partners.” The policy group will identify potential threats and impacts to all levels of state government and develop a plan to reduce risk if a cyber-attack were to occur.

Source: Nevada Governor’s Office