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Ohio Cities Fortify Cybersecurity: New Law & Training
Aug 28, 2025
Ohio cities fortify defenses against rising cyberattacks after recent disruptions. Local leaders collaborate to implement cybersecurity programs protecting data and IT resources under House Bill 96. Cooperation is key to overcoming the financial burden. #cybersecurity #Ohio #HB96 #InfoSecurity
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Local cyber security group is giving
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city leaders the tools and the knowledge
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they need to protect their communities
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from online threats.
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This training comes in the wake of a
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series of cyber attacks that have
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recently disrupted city departments and
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businesses across Ohio including right
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here in the Miami Valley. 10 News
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reporter Whitney Williams was at GO
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Cyber Collectives Education Seminar
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today. She explains why these lessons
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couldn't have come at a better time.
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We've seen major cyber attacks across
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Ohio, including right here in the Miami
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Valley. In fact, just up to last week,
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the city of Middletown was the target of
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an attack. And over the past 3 years,
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places like Huber Heights and Ketaring
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Health all faced serious disruptions in
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their operations due to cyber attacks.
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Now, under House Bill 96, the state is
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working to ensure that local governments
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have safety measures in place to protect
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their information and their communities.
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Dozens of city leaders and IT
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professionals met at Tyler Technologies
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to learn about their new cyber security
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duties under Ohio House Bill 96.
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There is no perfect security, but there
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is good security. And so there's a
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there's a there's a minimum baseline
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that everybody needs to sort of adhere
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to.
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Under House Bill 96, all local
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government entities must implement a
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cyber security program that protects
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data, IT, and IT resources. What we're
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asking for through this new law is that
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you you make sure that it is again it's
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coherent, it's formal and it's and it is
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and it evolves it evolves with the risks
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and you're going to be held accountable
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to it now through an audit.
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Back in 2023, the city of Huber Heights
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was hit by a cyber attack that disrupted
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seven departments including the tax,
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finance, and utilities divisions. City
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officials say they had a cyber security
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program in place when the attack
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happened, but events like this reinforce
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the need to stay prepared.
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Technology is constantly changing. The
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back bad actors that are out there are
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constantly using new ways uh to gain
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information from all local
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jurisdictions. Everything from the
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federal government down to the local
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jurisdictions. And so this is a good
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opportunity for all of us collaborate,
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talk about how we've been attacked.
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While House Bill 96 aims to help local
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governments guard against cyber attacks,
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it could also bring new challenges.
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I think there's going to be a lot of
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jurisdictions, especially our smaller
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jurisdictions. There's a financial cost
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to this. It costs a lot of money uh not
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only for uh a network, but also to have
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that
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framework and safety on cyber security
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as a part of our network. But there may
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be a solution
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for smaller governmental organizations
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to band together in cooperative security
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cooperatives where they can share the
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cost of this. The cost is burdensome,
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but it's if you if you do it the right
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way, it is it is certainly possible.
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House Bill 96 will take effect on
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September 30th, and by January, counties
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and cities across Ohio are expected to
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have reliable cyber security programs in
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place. in Merraine. I'm Whitney Williams
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with 2 News.
#Computer Security
#Computers & Electronics
#Local News
#Public Policy