The Mississippi Department of Public Safety announced Friday the creation of the state’s first-ever cyber unit.
As part of the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, the Mississippi Cyber Unit will serve as a centralized cybersecurity response center handling threat information, mitigation, and incident reporting.
It will be responsible for monitoring and identifying threats to the state’s networks. Just last November, the Mississippi Secretary of State’s official website was attacked by Russian hackers on Election Day.
“Cyber threats are rapidly increasing across the globe. Mississippi takes these threats seriously and recognizes that there’s never been a more important time to ensure that our state and her people are protected,” Governor Tate Reeves said. “The creation of the Mississippi Cyber Unit is another major step forward in our state’s ongoing effort to counter these emerging threats.”
The Mississippi Cyber Unit will be headed by Bobby Freeman, who previously served as a cyber operations officer for the Mississippi Army National Guard.
