Oregon Business Reports on State Cybersecurity Efforts, OCAC

Several members of the Oregon Cybersecurity Advisory Council (OCAC) were interviewed for a recent article in Oregon Business magazine about the state of cybersecurity in Oregon and the urgent need for a larger cybersecurity workforce in the state as well as a Cybersecurity Center of Excellence for Oregon. In her in-depth article, “Guardians of the network,” Kim Moore, editor of Oregon Business, wrote about the goals of the cybersecurity experts on the Oregon Cybersecurity Advisory Council and the group’s mission to help protect the digital lives of all Oregonians. The article highlighted Governor Kate Brown’s formation of the Oregon Cybersecurity Advisory Council, under Senate Bill 90, to develop a shared vision for the establishment of a cross-sector Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, in collaboration with Oregon’s cyber-related industries, private sector security practitioners, educational institutions, law enforcement and local governments.

In her article, Moore wrote, “The need for a statewide strategy to deal with the threat of cybercrime is critical. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, data breaches have cost Oregonians $74 million between 2007 and 2017. The cost of threats is set to balloon if they are not addressed at the state level.”

OCAC Chair Kerri Fry, vice president of operations and finance at IGNW, is quoted in the article about the need to build a larger cybersecurity workforce in Oregon. She said, “Everybody on the council has the same vision: that workforce development is the primary component of why we are here. How can we better equip students, how can we encourage students to go into the cybersecurity industry, how can we reach the marginalized communities and put those students through cybersecurity education?”

The Oregon Business article also included additional perspective from other OCAC members about Oregon’s urgent need for more skilled cybersecurity workers, the need for a Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in Oregon, and other important issues.

OCAC Vice Chair Charles Kawasaki, chief technical officer of PacStar, said, “By most measures, we are far behind in terms of addressing the issues. Other states have built Cybersecurity Centers of Excellence and cybersecurity disruption plans and are doing a better job of building awareness than Oregon has.”

You can read the complete Oregon Business article here.