State and local governments need a unified approach to cybersecurity

Just_Super via Getty Images

COMMENTARY | A consolidated cyber operations framework for states isn’t just a strategy — it’s a lifeline in an era of relentless cyber threats.

The White House’s recent shift in cyber risk management represents a pivotal moment for state and local agencies.

With the release of the National Resilience Strategy, state and local agencies now bear the responsibility of making critical infrastructure decisions to address growing domestic and foreign cyber threats. Moreover, the implementation of major federal budget reductions has forced states to fight for the protection of critical election systems and public service infrastructure.

States also face pre-existing cyber risk management challenges, such as navigating budget constraints, workforce shortages, work silos and tool fragmentation across different agencies. In fact, nearly 40% of chief information security officers report insufficient funding for adequate cybersecurity measures. 

The desired results extend beyond tool implementation and threat response as agencies must develop a new approach to consolidate tools and manage cyber risks effectively. 

Relying on siloed tools is not effective against advanced ransomware attacks or cyberattacks powered by generative artificial intelligence.

Incidents like the American Water breach underscore the urgent need for consolidated risk management frameworks to protect vital state and local infrastructure. This is where the Risk Operations Center framework comes in.

The ROC framework provides state and local governments with a unified approach to establishing strategic threat prioritization and building infrastructure resilience. For instance, a ROC shifts the focus to proactive risk management — identifying systemic vulnerabilities before they become crises — and facilitates collaboration across agencies to collectively defend against emerging threats. 

However, the ROC is not simply an evolution of the traditional Security Operations Center; it is a paradigm shift. While SOCs focus on detecting and responding to immediate threats, ROCs focus on risks based on their potential impact on mission-critical outcomes. This broader perspective aligns security efforts with agency priorities, allowing state and local governments to address vulnerabilities proactively rather than reactively.

The main differentiator that sets a ROC apart lies in its threat response approach. The ROC handles cybersecurity risk in addition to real-time threat detection. It collects security data as risk telemetry to display complete threat and vulnerability insights across state and local agencies without requiring system replacements. Risk management also functions as an integral part of operational priorities through ROCs, which direct efforts toward an agency’s mission objectives. 

ROCs work alongside SOCs to support proactive risk management through their complementary functionality. This framework allows CISOs to detect security vulnerabilities early and to rank threats according to their level of impact on public services and citizen trust. In this case, the goal is to transition from the current reactive approach of managing risk to a proactive consolidation model that reduces tool sprawl. 

Lastly, the persistent shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals remains a significant hurdle for state governments. By centralizing expertise within a ROC, states can maximize the impact of skilled personnel while leveraging automation to handle routine tasks. This frees up teams to focus on high-priority incidents that require human intervention.

When combined with a ROC, a whole-of-state approach to state and local cybersecurity protects national security, aligns human resources, improves efficiencies and reduces human error.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers champions a whole-of-state approach to cybersecurity, emphasizing collaboration across state and local entities to address increasing cyberattacks against healthcare, education and critical infrastructure. A ROC embodies this strategy by bolstering the cybersecurity postures of state and local government in many ways: 

  • Establishing a ROC facilitates collaboration between state and local governments without requiring tool standardization.
  • Centralized oversight ensures consistent implementation of frameworks like NIST CSF 2.0 and CISA guidelines.
  • Smaller municipalities often lack the budget or expertise for robust cybersecurity. A ROC enables them to leverage enterprise-level capabilities without duplicating efforts.
  • Real-time intelligence sharing ensures rapid detection and response across all levels of government.

The stakes have never been higher for state and local governments as cyber threats grow more sophisticated and relentless.

A consolidated ROC framework offers more than just a solution; it provides a lifeline to protect national security, critical infrastructure, public services and citizen trust. State CISOs can identify vulnerabilities before they escalate into crises by moving from reactive to proactive risk management, ensuring resilience in the face of evolving threats like ransomware and generative AI-powered attacks.

The time to act is now. With the support of frameworks like the ROC and a whole-of-state approach, state CISOs can break down silos, centralize expertise and build a unified defense against adversaries targeting our nation’s most vital systems. 

State and local cyber risk management is no longer just an IT issue — it has become a mission-critical national priority that demands bold leadership, strategic collaboration and unified cyber risk management tactics. The future of protecting our citizens from cybercriminals depends on it.

Jonathan Trull is chief information security officer and senior vice president for security solution architecture at Qualys.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.