Ohio’s cyber community working together to help Ohio’s citizens and organizations achieve world class cyber security.
The Adjutant General’s Department has brought together public, private, military and educational organizations to develop a stronger cybersecurity infrastructure and workforce. To strengthen cybersecurity in Ohio, the Ohio National Guard has brought together more than 30 public, private, military and educational organizations to form the Ohio Cyber Collaboration Committee (OC3). The OC3 mission is to provide a collaborative environment to develop a stronger cybersecurity infrastructure and workforce.
The committee supported planning that led to the establishment of the Ohio Cyber Range, which is managed by the Ohio Cyber Range Institute — a virtual environment used for cybersecurity training and technology development.
OC3 members include representatives from the education and business communities to develop a program to increase the number of students who pursue certificates or degrees in cybersecurity.
When Governor John Kasich formed the Ohio Collaboration Committee in (2015), otherwise known as OC3, the organization was given the task of determining the best means of improving cybersecurity within the state. This overarching cyber goal included state government, critical infrastructure, businesses, hospitals, and the grassroots citizens of Ohio. The OC3 organization was given two tasks: 1) to create a Cyber Range which could be used for cybersecurity teaching and training, and 2) to determine the best way to form civilian incident response teams within the state.
Initially, the OC3 working group consisted of agency directors chosen by the Governor based on their knowledge and agencies’ involvement in cybersecurity. In the early days, OC3 was very small and consisted of 3 core members representing the State CISO’s office, OARNet, and the Ohio National Guard. With such a small group, progress was slow since none of the members could work full time on this initiative. At that point, Governor Kasich asked the Adjutant General to provide additional fiscal resources and hire a full-time employee solely devoted to the effort. OC3 then began to grow…
As the OC3 membership grew with expertise from across Ohio, it became apparent that separate subcommittees were needed to address each of the lines of effort, including a new focus on governing OC3 itself (i.e. OC3 Governance Subcommittee). Thus, the OC3 Cyber Incident Response Teams subcommittee was born. The primary goal of this subcommittee was to research the formation of civilian incident response teams. Over time, the committee realized that the proper approach to the issue included preparedness, not only response, and the committee was renamed the OC3 Cyber Preparedness and Response Subcommittee.
At the same time, the Cyber Range subcommittee was reviewing MOU terms in how to form the Ohio Cyber Range as a separate non-profit entity, board, or commission. By establishing the Ohio Cyber Range as an educational institute, OC3 was able take advantage of the educational campus structure and outreach into all four corners of the state. In December 2017, the University of Cincinnati partnered with the Ohio Department of Higher Education and the Ohio Adjutant General's Department to explore and demonstrate the benefit of an Ohio Cyber Range.
In 2017 and 2018, the OC3 Cyber Preparedness and Response Subcommittee researched the formation of civilian cyber response teams in other states to determine best practices and lessons learned. The subcommittee reviewed several proposed structures addressing this response capability and in late 2018, the committee reviewed a white paper comparing the pros and cons of structuring civilian incident response teams and where to house them. It was at that meeting in 2018, when the decision was reached to form the Ohio Cyber Reserve, under the Adjutant General’s office, and modeled after the Ohio Military Reserve. Governor Mike DeWine took office in 2019 and continued to support the efforts of OC3.
Next, the legislative affairs office at the Ohio Adjutant General’s Division worked with lawmakers to draft legislation to put the Ohio Cyber Reserve in place and the OC3 full committee began to think towards the future. While the Ohio Cyber Reserve would play a part in both cyber preparedness and response, there would be other areas in which OC3 might continue to drive cyber preparedness in the state. Hence, the OC3 Cyber Preparedness and Response Subcommittee was split and rebranded as the OC3 Cyber Protection Subcommittee and the Ohio Cyber Reserve. When Governor DeWine signed Senate Bill 52 forming the Ohio Cyber Reserve, the focus of its core members revolved around the significant task of standing up the newly formed Ohio Cyber Reserve organization. The OC3 Coordinator, Mark Bell, began looking at new leadership for the OC3 Cyber Protection Subcommittee and Ohio Homeland Security seemed the logical choice. If you have a commitment and passion to protect and defend our great state of Ohio, please join us. And as they say, the rest is history…
OC3 Apprenticeship/Internship Working Group Meeting
1:00pm
OC3 Full Committee Meeting
10:00am
OC3 Education & Workforce Development S.C. Meeting
1:00pm
OC3 Cyber Protection & Preparedness S.C. Meeting
1:00pm
Mark Bell, Chair
Cyber Security Outreach Coordinator
State of Ohio Adjutant General's Department
2825 West Dublin Granville Road
Columbus, Ohio 43235-2789
Office: 614-336-4903
Cell: 614-256-2391