Was your work area hacked? NJ has a new cyberattack reporting law

🔴 The Garden State has a new cyberattack reporting requirement
🔴 With cyberattacks on the rise all state agencies must report them within 72 hours
🔴 The governor says cyberattacks can jeopardize the entire state

With cyberattacks on the rise, New Jersey has a new law that requires all state agencies and government contractors to report any cybersecurity incident to the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness within 72 hours.

The law specifies NJOHSP must establish and publish reporting guidelines to facilitate the timely and confidential submission of incident notifications by all public agencies in New Jersey, as well as government contractors, municipalities, counties, K-12 public schools, public colleges and universities and state law enforcement agencies.

An evolving threat landscape

“As we continue to face an evolving threat landscape, we must also adapt the mechanisms in place that safeguard our state,” Gov. Phil Murphy said about the law. “This legislation will bolster New Jersey’s security by expediting cybersecurity incident reporting and increase our resilience through effective communication.”

Laurie Doran, the director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, said that cyber threats are constantly evolving and increasing.

“This new cyber incident reporting law will help connect the dots, allowing for effective collective incident response among all stakeholders,” she said.

Hundreds of cyber incidents last year

Last year, the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell confirmed 375 cyber incident reports.

“By intaking cybersecurity incident reports we can provide assistance to the affected public agencies to help them respond and recover from an attack," NJCCIC Director Mike Geraghty said. "It also allows the NJCCIC to help prevent further compromises of public agencies by sharing the techniques, tactics and protocols the attackers used and the best practices to thwart them.”

To report a cyber incident, you can call 833-4-NJCCIC or visit cyber.nj.gov.

The website also provides alerts and bulletins as well as updated information about New Jersey’s cybersecurity efforts.

David Matthau is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at david.matthau@townsquaremedia.com

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