Cyber Security
Hacking, ransomware and data theft is modern warfare. We need to be prepared.
A Lurking Danger That Will Cost Lives If Ignored
Every day, there are reports of local governments, law enforcement agencies, schools, hospitals and public utilities being knocked out of commission due to hacking and ransomware attacks. Eventually, we will experience a mass casualty event due to a breach in IT defenses.
We Are Lacking Urgency From Lawmakers
While our lawmakers have been focused on transgender youth, CRT, DEI, book bans and other social issues that have no tangible benefit to South Carolinians at large, the topic of cyber security has not been getting any attention.
We have a department of Information Security and Privacy which is responsible only for governmental agencies. Aside from the Insurance Data Security Act enacted in 2019, we
We Need to Act Now
Cyber threats are our current reality and are here to stay. The State government can be an effective force to protect us by:
- Establishing a “Cyber National Guard” modeled after our current National Guard, made up of trained volunteers that can be deployed to assist in recovery when a critical piece of infrastructure is attacked
- Enacting data and technology safety education programs throughout schools, libraries and other institutions that serve citizens of all ages. Knowledge can be a powerful tool in preventing attacks and data theft
- Coordinating resources with federal, private, and public institutions to develop policies that are effective in both preventing and reacting to cyber attacks
- Working with private businesses to implement minimum protective measures and have a rapid response program to minimize the impact of outages to the citizens of South Carolina
Most Lawmakers Aren’t Capable of Speaking About Tech
Cyber Security policies simply cannot be developed by lawmakers whose tech skills are limited to using the CAPS LOCK button.
I have decades of experience in Information Technology, both as a software and database developer as well as an Executive Leader. We must be able to speak the same language used by cloud architects, big data engineers and network technologists in order to develop meaningful, measurable and implementable policies.
Lawmakers unable to bridge that gap in communications will often do more harm than good with the policies they create.
My Position
I will make the digital defense of our critical infrastructure a top priority of the next legislative cycle.