WASHINGTON—Today Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe hosted the fourth roundtable of his 2016-17 National Governors Association (NGA) chair’s initiative, Meet the Threat: States Confront the Cyber Challenge. Speaking in Tysons Corner, Virginia, Gov. McAuliffe was joined by federal representatives, and small business owners for a discussion on improving their cybersecurity posture.
The roundtable was hosted by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and included discussions on identifying critical challenges to protecting the cyber environment, potential solutions for addressing them and promoting and highlighting existing resources for small businesses.
“Enhancing cybersecurity operations at the state level is essential to fulfilling every governor’s responsibility to protect families and businesses from cyber threats. That is why I have continued to make this issue my top priority as chair of NGA,” Gov. McAuliffe said. “Today I announced that I will be introducing legislation that makes acts of computer trespass, using intentionally deceptive means, a Class 1 misdemeanor. I will also introduce legislation that requires employers and payroll service companies to notify the Virginia Department of Taxation, when the security of their payroll system has been breached. Both bills will decrease the significant financial harm that small businesses face due to criminal activity and extend Virginia’s position as a leader in the fight against cyber crime.”
Meet the Threat places states at the center of finding solutions to the increasingly sophisticated cyber threats facing the nation. The initiative’s primary goal is for states to develop strategies for strengthening cybersecurity practices as they relate to state IT networks, health care, education, public safety, energy, transportation, critical infrastructure, economic development and the workforce.
Previously, Gov. McAuliffe hosted roundtables on the intersection of cybersecurity and health care, education and the workforce and critical infrastructure. He also held a regional state cybersecurity summit in October in Boston. Senior state policymakers from across the country gathered there to discuss promising practices, emerging issues and continuing challenges in state cybersecurity.
