Is your government organization prepared for Ohio’s cybersecurity mandate?

Did you know that starting in late September 2025, every local government entity  in Ohio – including counties, cities, school districts, and libraries – must create and put in place a cybersecurity program? 

Ohio is requiring that all local government agencies (e.g. city offices, schools and libraries) must implement cybersecurity policies. And, the State of Ohio would not approve of agencies going ahead with sending any ransom payments to cybercriminals (without pre-approval). This is where hackers would hold entities’ data and computer systems ransom (hostage) until those ransoms are paid off. This of course is a huge worry for local governments especially after previous controversies regarding the leakage of data - even after payments were made. Additionally, when they have to disclose these private matters publicly, it exposes these organizations to revealing confidential information that hackers may use for future leverage.  

Plus, because of the new requirements and training, it doesn’t take into account these governments entities’ budgets or funding needed to support these efforts.  

So, starting in September 2025, every local government of every city, school district, and county will be required to have a cybersecurity program in place. In addition, they will have to undergo training provided by Ohio’s Cyber Institute to gain an understanding of what to do when ransom gangs attempt cyberattacks. In terms of approving ransomware payments, they first must approve any payments - that will take into consideration, the best interests of that local government by a legislative vote.  

Despite the back and forth concerns, that there should be a more open discussion on whether these practices will induce more harm or good to the local governments and their communities. The focus now rests on where governments will get the appropriate backup needed to protect their systems.. 

Is your organization prepared? This is where SpaceBound Solutions comes in - we help ensure that your government office, school or library is protected at a time when cybercrime becomes more sophisticated and harder to stop than ever before. You can find in the two links below, our Endpoint Security Services and Backup and Recovery Services – both are tailored to your needs and will manage your organization’s data to ensure full protection! 

 Endpoint Security: spaceboundsolutions.com/ContentPage/148  

Backup and Recovery:  https://www.spaceboundsolutions.com/ContentPage/146  

Both services offer the following: 

• Monitoring of backup system, including offsite backup, offsite replication, and an onsite backup appliance (“Backup Appliance”) 
 • Troubleshooting and remediation of failed backup disks 
 • Firmware and software updates of backup appliance 
 • Problem analysis by the network operations team 
 • Daily recovery verification 

Contact us today, to learn more about how SpaceBound Solutions can help you!