91¿ì»îÁÖ

WASHINGTON – Today, global tech trade association the 91¿ì»îÁÖ (91¿ì»îÁÖ) issued the following statement in reaction to the Florida State Legislature’s passage of HB 7055:

“As state and local governments face a record level of ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity threats, it's imperative that leaders are equipped with the tools to keep systems and citizens’ information secure,” said Rhoda Washington, 91¿ì»îÁÖ’s U.S. State and Local Policy Lead, Public Sector. “91¿ì»îÁÖ applauds the Florida State Legislature for passing HB 7055, which improves state and local cybersecurity incident reporting and provides necessary training to all who will be tasked with defending Florida's networks and systems, and commend Representative Gillombardo for his leadership on this critical issue. Working together with state and local governments, industry and community leaders can help ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure. We are pleased that the bill calls for Florida to develop standards and processes consistent with best practices such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and we look forward to our ongoing partnership with policymakers in Florida to advance those best practices and solutions for cybersecurity.”

In December, 91¿ì»îÁÖ released its Cyber Action Plan: Infrastructure Implementation Recommendations for State and Local Governments, which included a series of recommendations to help guide leaders as they prioritize and invest the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act resources in both broadband buildout plans and requests for cyber specific grants. In its recommendations – sent to governors and key state officials in states including Florida, Texas, California, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington – 91¿ì»îÁÖ urges state and local governments to:  

• Adopt new commercial cyber technologies to ensure governments have access to up-to-date cybersecurity measures and safeguards and can assist state and local governments in bolstering their defenses.  

• Prioritize IT modernization and secure line-item budget funding to support this investment.  

• Support funding for cyber defense capabilities, cybersecurity education, training, and skills development programs for state and local employees.  

• Adopt federal cyber standards and collaborate with federal partners, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). 

• Adopt cloud solutions and recognize pre-existing compliance regimes for IT vendors. 

• Support DHS state and local cybersecurity programs.  

• Develop robust incident response and recovery plans that ensure cyberattacks are addressed in real-time and limit the damage.