One interview on New Hampshire Public Radio has led to sweeping cybersecurity reform in the state. In 2019, Margaret Byrnes, the executive director of the New Hampshire Municipal Association, and state CIO Denis Goulet were booked on an NHPR show by chance to discuss cyber threats to local governments.
Byrnes admitted that she was not even aware of the state’s Department of Information Technology before the radio show. However, their conversation sparked the idea of continuing the dialogue, leading to the development of New Hampshire’s whole-of-state cybersecurity strategy.
Since the interview, Byrnes and Goulet discussed ways in which the state IT department could assist in defending local governments, school districts, and other public-sector agencies across the state. The legislation was also backed by a coalition that included K-12 school districts and the New Hampshire Public Risk Management Exchange.
Their collaboration resulted in a bill signed by Governor Chris Sununu last year which required local governments to report cybersecurity incidents to the state Department of Information Technology. That this partnership formed through local radio shows the continuing power of radio in communities across the US.
