Ohio Cyber Collaboration Committee

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…