Recent ransomware attacks have crippled Ohio’s cities, compromising residents’ personal information and slowing down basic services.
However, Ohio does not have a statewide requirement for how municipalities handle cybersecurity or a mandate that cities seek the state’s help after an attack.
That’s because Ohio municipalities are empowered to govern themselves, a concept called home rule. Ohio lawmakers have routinely tested the bounds of home rule by banning everything from firearm restrictions to flavored tobacco limits and plastic bag bans statewide. But they haven’t tackled cybersecurity…