Friday, January 20, 2023

New Cyber Unit Gets First Director

 The Mississippi Department of Public Safety issued the following statement. 

Commissioner Sean Tindell and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety today announced Mississippi’s new Cyber Unit and the appointment of Bobby Freeman as its first Director.


The ability to provide a trustworthy and stable cyber environment is vital to the success of Mississippi. The Mississippi Cyber Unit – a component of the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security – will be the state’s centralized cybersecurity threat information, mitigation, and incident reporting and response center. This unit will be made up of specialists who focus on preparedness and response. The strategic plan for the Mississippi Cyber Unit will be focused on monitoring and identifying threats to Mississippi networks, sharing real-time threat intelligence, and providing support to cyber incidents within the state.


Prior to joining the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, Freeman served full-time as the Cyber Operations Officer for the Mississippi Army National Guard. With the Mississippi Army National Guard, Freeman mobilized to Iraq in 2009 with the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team as the Company Commander for the Brigade’s Signal Company. He also mobilized domestically with the Mississippi Army National Guard’s Cyber Protection Team detachment in 2018 and 2021. Freeman has over 20 years of military experience in information technology and security. He earned his Master of Science in Cybersecurity from Liberty University in 2020 and a B.A. from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2005. He has received extensive information technology and cybersecurity training through the military and currently holds industry certifications including CompTIA’s Advanced Security Practitioner, Security+, and the EC- Council’s Certified Ethical Hacker.


“Cyber threats are rapidly increasing across the globe. Mississippi takes these threats seriously

and recognizes that there’s never been a more important time to ensure that our state and her people are protected,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “The creation of the Mississippi Cyber Unit is another major step forward in our state’s ongoing effort to counter these emerging threats.


Director Freeman and the new unit are well positioned to strengthen our state’s cybersecurity.”

“We are very pleased with the new launch of our cybersecurity unit and the appointment of Bobby Freeman as director,” said Commissioner Sean Tindell. “This new addition to the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security and under the leadership of Director Freeman, the cybersecurity unit will continue to enhance partnerships with state, local, and federal personnel to support the mission of protecting the citizens and resources of our state from cyber threats.”


“As we navigate an increasingly connected and digital world, the importance of strong cybersecurity cannot be overstated. I am excited to announce the appointment of Bobby Freeman as the first Director of the Mississippi Cyber Unit within the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security,” said Executive Director of Homeland Security, Baxter Kruger. “Director Freeman has a bevy of experience and is well positioned to build the newly created Mississippi Cyber Unit.


Addressing threats to Mississippi’s critical infrastructure and her citizens is my office’s primary focus and I am confident that under Bobby’s leadership Mississippians will be better protected from cyber threats than ever before.”


“I am looking forward to serving the people of Mississippi as the Cyber Director for the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security and working with local, state, and federal partners to enhance the cybersecurity capabilities of our community to combat the threats that exist within

the cyber domain,” said Director Freeman.


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welcome aboard.

Anonymous said...

Seems super qualified. But why the highway patrol needs a cyber sleuth is beyond me.

Anonymous said...

I thought that’s what the Fusion Center was for.

Anonymous said...

B.A. in what?

Anonymous said...

7:54 am Apparently, our version of MBI is under their umbrella rather than an independent agency.
Glad we are only 25 years behind in cyber security.

Anonymous said...

7:54 Because the Attorney General’s office isn’t do anything in cyber anymore. Lynn has all but dismantled that entire division.

Anonymous said...

New cyber unit you say?
Expect your “anonymous” comments about state leadership to be a lot less anonymous.

Anonymous said...

@10:14 Now people know Lynn’s lack of State Leadership isn’t anonymous!

Anonymous said...

@8:53 AM
The AGs Cyber Crimes Unit was focused on Child Exploitation. These days, prosecutors receive alerts from Big Tech about child exploitation. All current version of Mac OS, Windows, Android, Chrome OS, and iOS, scan any images stored on the device and upload the hashes to compare them against known databases of CSAM images. If there is a match, federal agencies are notified and provided with all of your personal info. There is really no need for the AG to employ a cyber crimes unit any longer. Apple/Google/Microsoft just tells them who the pedophiles are just like they tell the FBI who are white supremacists and terrorists.

Anonymous said...

@3:31

You are right on the broad picture but wrong on the execution. The process does not occur on the device itself and you wouldn't want it to occur client side like that since it would be easily bypassed, stopped, or blocked from reporting. Apple actually was planning on doing something like this in their latest iOS release but received so much criticism for it they stopped. What happens is that whenever that image or video is transmitted the hash is calculated and checked on the server side. This happens a lot with things like facebook messenger, snapchat, email, internet service providers, etc. The image passes over their server and the hash gets checked against the database from there. Should there be a hash match the system then sends an automated notification to the contact for the local area where the person is accessing that service from. So if they are connected from Jackson it sends the notification to the listed local contact there and they can distribute it to local law enforcement.



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