Local Governments Moving Toward Compliance with Indiana’s New Cybersecurity Reporting Law

The Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) is reminding local governments and political subdivisions that the annual deadline to update cybersecurity incident contacts is Sept. 1. To date, just over 600 political subdivisions have complied, compared to the more than 3,000 throughout the state who fall under the contact-reporting requirement of House Enrolled Act 1169 (2021). 

HEA 1169, which was unanimously passed by the Indiana General Assembly, requires that all Indiana political subdivisions and state agencies provide their cybersecurity contact information, such as entity representative’s name, telephone number and email, to the State’s IOT division to report any cybersecurity incidents.

“Having a full database of contacts will allow us to share information across Indiana units of government, enabling better coordination, increased awareness and protection against cyberattacks,” said Tracy Barnes, Indiana’s chief information officer. “Cyber attacks are not a far-off possibility in the future. Just recently, Kentucky and Arkansas experienced significant cyber security breaches, and local governments across the nation are experiencing attacks regularly. These attacks are now a regular threat, and we need to be ready to protect against and thwart them.”

Cyberattacks increased by 31% from 2020 to 2021, according to Accenture’s State of Cybersecurity Resilience 2021 report. The number of attacks per company increased from 206 to 270 year over year.

In addition to helping the state build its coordination contact database, IOT is also working with a number of local units of government to enhance their cybersecurity defenses by providing no-cost or low-cost services. Examples include providing IN.gov domains and secure .gov email accounts, which provide certainty to citizens that they are dealing with an official government body, cybersecurity training, low-cost websites and an office productivity suite.

To learn more about the services IOT provides, go to https://on.in.gov/IOTlocal. 

Indiana local units of government can report their contact information to https://on.in.gov/1169

Hoosiers, business owners, educators and government officials can find helpful cybersecurity information and tips at https://cybersecurity.IN.gov.