Lawmakers agree to establish a State Security Operations Center focused on cybersecurity - Magnolia Tribune

Home > News > Lawmakers agree to establish a State... Lawmakers agree to establish a State Security Operations Center focused on cybersecurity By: Daniel Tyson - March 25, 2026 (Photo from Shutterstock) The SSOC will collaborate with the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security as well as federal cybersecurity centers and public-sector threat-intelligence partners. A bill to create a State Security Operations Center (SSOC) is headed to Governor Tate Reeves (R) after lawmakers agreed on the conference report Wednesday morning. When enacted into law, SB 2654 would create within the Mississippi Department of Information Technology an operational arm of statewide cybersecurity, complementing but not supplanting the strategic, regulatory, and governance authorities already granted the state. State Senator Bart Williams (R), chairman of the Senate Technology Committee, said upon adopting the conference report that the changes to the bill sought by the House were small. State Senator Bart Williams The conference report, he told Senators, “is almost identical to the bill we passed out of here.” The measure was unanimously approved by the Senate in February. “Nothing functionally changes,” Williams added. The changes included from the House deleted a reverse repealer as well as cleaned up a few clerical suggestions. Williams said the Senate bill used the abbreviation ISO, whereas the House bill wrote out the words “Chief Information Security Officer.” Williams noted that no appropriations were necessary to enact SB 2654. When he wrapped up his floor speech, there were no questions concerning the conference report from fellow senators, and adoption swiftly followed.  The SSOC is to provide centralized statewide cybersecurity operations to include continuous monitoring, alerting, threat detection and analysis of state cyberinfrastructure as well as operational incident response and mitigation. The SSOC will also provide security orchestration, automation and response. The SSOC will collaborate with the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, federal cybersecurity centers and public-sector threat-intelligence partners, and “any other entity necessary to execute operational cybersecurity responsibilities.” The bill states that the legislation cannot limit the authority of the state’s chief information officer, modify or limit the statewide cybersecurity authorities, or impact the governance, policy-making, or regulatory functions of the Enterprise Security Program. Notably, a bill to create a state Chief Information Officer, SB 2625, died in the House Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee earlier this month. That bill would have created a gubernatorially appointed position meant to serve as the chief policy advisor to the Governor on statewide information technology and cybersecurity issues. Share ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S) DANIEL TYSON Daniel Tyson has reported for national and regional newspapers for three decades. He joined Magnolia Tribune in January 2024. For the last decade or so, he’s focused on global energy, mainly natural resources. MORE LIKE THIS NEWS  |  JEREMY PITTARI  •  MARCH 27, 2026 Governor vetoes “Right to Try Medical Cannabis Act” over allowance for out-of-state residents Governor Tate Reeves also vetoed another medical cannabis-related bill that would have extended the time between caregiver background checks, among other provisions. MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR NEWS  |  DANIEL TYSON  •  MARCH 27, 2026 Appropriators hammer out FY 2027 state budget as regular session nears end NEWS  |  DANIEL TYSON  •  MARCH 26, 2026 Lawmakers revive disaster loan program vetoed by governor NEWS  |  DANIEL TYSON  •  MARCH 24, 2026 Lawmakers look to put old ABC warehouse up for sale PREVIOUS STORY NEWS  |  BARBARA ORTUTAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS ,  KAITLYN HUAMANI, ASSOCIATED PRESS  •  MARCH 25, 2026 What could come next for other social media firms as a jury finds Meta platforms harm children NEXT STORY NEWS  |  KAITLYN HUAMANI, ASSOCIATED PRESS ,  BARBARA ORTUTAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS  •  MARCH 25, 2026 Jury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial NEWS  |  FRANK CORDER  •  MARCH 27, 2026 Mississippi outlaws lab-grown dairy products Governor Tate Reeves (R) allowed HB 1153 to become law without his signature after the measure cruised through the Mississippi Legislature with only a handful of votes against the bill. NEWS  |  MAGNOLIA TRIBUNE  •  MARCH 27, 2026 Magnolia Mornings: March 27, 2026 Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.