Bloomberg: States aim to emulate Ohio’s approach to cybersecurity
Ohio Cyber Reserve holds training exercise at UC
States throughout the nation are looking to emulate the Ohio Cyber Reserve, a civilian group tasked with combating cyberattacks that in July participated in a training exercise at the University of Cincinnati, Bloomberg reported.
During the training exercise at the 1819 Innovation Hub, 19 members of the Ohio Cyber Reserve “hunted for digital breadcrumbs left by a fictional disgruntled employee who defaced state websites, tracked down theoretical thieves who mined a municipal online data trove, and battled malware that a foreign country had secreted onto county computer networks.”
Richard Harknett, a professor of political science and co-director of the Ohio Cyber Range Institute at UC, said the training event was wildly successful.
States including California, Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Maryland are creating civilian cyber volunteer response teams like Ohio. Virginia, Indiana Colorado, Montana, Washington and West Virginia also have expressed interest in establishing teams.
“The phone’s been ringing off the hook,” said Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr., Ohio adjutant general. “There’s a lot of interest in standing up this kind of cyber reserve.”
Featured image at top: Members of the Ohio Cyber Reserve, a volunteer force under the command of the state’s adjutant general, take part in a training exercise at the University of Cincinnati's 1819 Innovation Hub. Photos by Joseph Fuqua
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Mentors help shape the next generation of UC leaders
March 19, 2026
PeerLead connects incoming graduate students with experienced peers, fostering community, supporting student success and developing leadership skills across the University of Cincinnati.
Pediatric visits can encourage parents to quit smoking
March 18, 2026
Medscape turns to UC human services Professor Ashley Merianos for expert opinion about using pediatric visits to encourage parents to quit smoking.
UC summer program gives high school students hands-on research experience
March 18, 2026
The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine is expanding its Medical Sciences Summer Institute (MSSI) this year with a new medical informatics track.