Gov. Butch Otter is expected to announce a new office position focused on cyber security within the next week.
At Monday's State of the State address, Otter emphasized the need for heightened cyber security at the state level.
"Cyber-crime and even cyber-warfare are very real and growing threats," Otter said Monday.
Lt. Gov. Brad Little confirmed to 6 on your Side Wednesday Otter plans to appoint a director to serve as a liaison between the state and public sector to implement risk management and assessment for cyber security.
The working title for the position is "Director of Information Security", but that name could change prior to the announcement.
Otter will request legislators approve funds for the new position following the announcement.
"Safety is the number one thing; safety of our grids, the power gird, the security of the information we have in law enforcement, those are all very critical," Little said. "As more data is not on a server locked in a room, it's important that we add a lot more resiliency and a lot more protection to our system.
Little is currently the head of a cyber security task force appointed by the governor. Findings from that task force are also expected to be released next week.
