The state of Louisiana is moving resources and personnel to focus more on cybersecurity preparedness and response, starting from the top.
Dustin Glover, former chief information security officer with the Louisiana Office of Technology Services (OTS), is taking on a new role leading these efforts as the state’s chief cyber officer.
While still housed within the state’s OTS, the role exists in partnership with the Louisiana Military Department, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and the state’s police.
The move is part of a broader push within Louisiana to shore up its cyber defense, including adding resources to existing cyber infrastructure within the state police and adding 20 new dedicated cyber positions to the state’s military department, according to Glover. While the details of this and other partnerships are still being formalized, Glover said he expects the new positions to work with multiple state departments.
“I cannot underline this enough: we are doing awesome work because we are working together,” said Glover.
The restructuring is in part due to the volume of attacks on the state. In 2019 and 2020, the state spent at least $2.3 million related to cyber attacks. Glover said since 2019, his office has worked with 107 local agencies to tackle cyber threats.
“This is clearly a full-time responsibility if it’s going to be handled well,” he said.
Glover said that in the new role he will focus on delivering services to local government agencies as well as helping with risk mitigation throughout Louisiana.
Before stepping into his new role, Glover had been the state’s CISO since November 2014, according to his LinkedIn. Prior to that he worked in information security for the Louisiana Workforce Commission and in the health-care industry.
With Glover in a new role, Chase Hymel will step in as the new CISO. Hymel previously worked as a deputy director within OTS, working on security architecture and operations.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story contained a naming error. It has since been corrected.
