When it comes to cybersecurity, Minnesota has been ahead of the curve. It used grant money from the Department of Homeland Security and other funding to create MNet – an enterprise telecommunications network that connects state and local government and education offices throughout the state. Now, Minnesota is taking the “whole of state” cybersecurity effort even further. John Israel is the chief information security officer for the state of Minnesota. “One was really creating a baseline of cybersecurity for local government and critical infrastructure, so getting resources to do assessments, understanding baseline controls, policies, standards, and ensuring that everybody has access to resources to build a security program,” Israel said on Ask the CIO. “Second tier was really bringing some advanced control security capabilities to these local governments, so looking at the buying power that the state has and the ability to really take enterprise class capabilities and bring them to even the smallest local government that may not even have an IT team, much less a cybersecurity team, and help them see the benefits of those capabilities within their program. The third part was bringing in cyber navigators. We brought in a team of cyber advisors that can really get to know and build the relationship with those local governments. It’s not a one and done and it’s not just that you’re getting outreach or you got the nebulous, ‘the state is doing something for you.’ You actually get to know a navigator that can help understand your unique needs.” Israel said the state CISO’s office is offering resources, some at no cost and others at low cost, to help local and educational institutions improve their cyber defenses as the threats continue to evolve. He said the DHS grant program has been especially helpful to deploy cyber capabilities statewide.