The top state Senate Republican reviewing cybersecurity is calling on House lawmakers to immediately pass legislation creating a Georgia Cyber Command.
Senator Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas) says the new agency is needed to guard against vulnerabilities in state government computer networks. He points to last week’s cyber attack on the University System of Georgia (USG) as evidence of the need for such a Command.
On Friday, June 16, USG and several federal agencies were the victims of a massive cyber attack. Russian hackers have claimed responsibility for the attack, which exploited a vulnerability in a program called “MOVEit,” a popular tool for securely transferring data.
“This attack on our government systems is a wake-up call that American computer networks are constantly at risk from cyber-attack. Georgians in both the public and private sector should use this as a learning experience and ensure all of their computers, phones and tablets have the latest security updates,” says Sen. Anavitarte. “I also call on the Georgia House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s lead and immediately pass legislation to create a Georgia Cyber Command.”
During the 2023 Legislative Session, Sen. Anavitarte introduced the Georgia Cyber Command Act as Senate Bill 97. The Georgia Cyber Command Act passed the Senate with bipartisan support, but it has not yet been considered for a vote before the House of Representatives.
Anavitarte chairs the Senate Study Committee on the Creation of a Georgia Cybersecurity Force. He has also authored legislation to ban CCP malware applications like TikTok on state government networks.
