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NEWS ROOM   |   Press Releases

For immediate release: January 25, 2006
Contact: Beth Roszman

NASCIO and MIX Release Finding from Surveys of State and Local Government Cybersecurity Preparedness

(Lexington, KY) – The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), which represents the chief information officers (CIOs) of the states, and the Metropolitan Information Exchange (MIX), an association of county and municipal CIOs, have released findings from a pair of surveys of state and local government cybersecurity preparedness. The NASCIO survey was conducted in late 2005 by NASCIO’s Information Security Committee, which is led by Denise Moore, CIO of Kansas. A similar survey was conducted concurrently by the leadership of MIX. The minority staff of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security will also release a report with recommendations based on the findings of the NASCIO and MIX surveys.

“The goal of the survey was not to be critical, but to provide DHS, Congress, the states, and key sector organizations, including NASCIO, with constructive advice to advance the cybersecurity preparedness in the states,” said Moore, who has served as the chief information technology officer for the executive branch of Kansas state government since her appointment by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in 2003. “We see the arrival of Secretary Chertoff and his proposed reorganization for DHS as a chance to further refine and reinvigorate activity in the state and local sector.”

"MIX members were pleased to receive the opportunity to provide input to DHS regarding such an important topic as cybersecurity preparedness. Based on the MIX survey results, it is clear that their is a huge opportunity to improve collaborative cybersecurity efforts among local, state, and federal government", stated Janette Pell, CIO of San Luis Obispo County, California, and the immediate past president of MIX, under whose leadership the MIX survey was conducted. “I want to commend NASCIO and MIX for their efforts,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. “I hope that their research will serve as a model and provide a foundation for continued efforts to advance the cause of national cybersecurity preparedness across all of the critical infrastructure sectors. We hope that DHS and others will take these recommendations to heart.”

NASCIO and MIX have long seen the natural linkage between homeland security and the state and local CIOs, who oversee information and communications technologies that support key public services. Section 7(c) of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-7 declares that: “It is the policy of the United States to enhance the protection of our Nation's critical infrastructure and key resources against terrorist acts that could...undermine state and local government capacities to maintain order and to deliver minimum essential public services.” Section 15 designates “emergency services”—most of which are delivered by state and local authorities--as being among the nation's “critical infrastructure sectors.”

“There should be a sense of urgency on some of the issues identified in this report,” said Doug Robinson, NASCIO’s executive director. “One of the linchpins is to get cybersecurity included in the DHS’s State Homeland Security Assessment and Strategy process, which is the national protocol that drives state homeland security spending. Currently, that process excludes cybersecurity entirely, so we weren’t surprised to find most states’ overall preparedness to be seriously lacking. We’re glad to have been able to partner with MIX and make this a truly state and local effort.”

NASCIO represents state chief information officers and information resource executives and managers from the 50 states, six U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. State members are senior officials from any of the three branches of state government who have executive-level and statewide responsibility for information resource management. Representatives from federal, municipal, and international governments and state officials who are involved in information resource management but do not have chief responsibility for that function participate in the organization as associate members. Private-sector firms and non-profit organizations may join as corporate members.

MIX members come from a variety of cities and counties throughout the United States and one from Canada. They are chief information officers and other key technology executives who are responsible for overall information technology from cities and counties with populations over 100,000. MIX members must have responsibility for a core discipline in computer technology. MIX fosters the interchange of knowledge and communication between the membership and major corporations, business partners will be invited to share information concerning matters of common interest. The number of vendor sponsors is at the discretion of the MIX officers.

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For more information from NASCIO, please contact NASCIO communications coordinator, Beth Roszman, NASCIO Assistant Director, at (859) 514-9167 or broszman@amrms.com or Chris Dixon, NASCIO Senior Issues Coordinator, at (859) 514-9148 or cdixon@amrms.com. For more information from MIX, please contact Janette Pell at (805) 781-5051 or jpell@co.slo.ca.us.

AMR Management Services provides NASCIO’s executive staff. For more information about AMR visit http://www.amrms.com/.