Third Way, a public policy think tank, said state governors have asked for the National Guard's assistance to respond to ransomware, more often than to other types of cyberattacks.
The National Guard has supported state cybersecurity efforts since 2018, with 23 of the 41 recorded cases being related to ransomware, the think tank said Monday. Eight of these ransomware attacks struck local government agencies and seven targeted public school systems.
The National Guard can create incident response plans, analyze cyber defenses, assess threats and perform cyber response efforts for state governments. Governors have also asked the National Guard for help with cyber issues that involve election security.
Last month, Reps. Andy Kim, D-N.J., and Joe Wilson, R-S.C., presented a bill that would provide governors more flexibility in how they would deploy National Guard personnel for cyber response.
