Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz activated the state national guard to help respond to an ongoing cyberattack on the state's capital city.

The National Guard is not faced with the same cybersecurity workforce gaps that many state and local governments are experiencing, said one National Guard Bureau officer.

Disinformation researchers said National Guard cyber units' routine work in election security has caught the attention of conspiracy theorists.

National Guard cyber units in 14 states will be on duty Election Day protecting voting-related networks from malicious activity.

Dustin Glover was named to the new role of chief cyber officer, leading the state's response to cyberattacks against local governments.

States called National Guard units dozens of times for ransomware attacks and to protect election systems, according to research from the think tank Third Way.

The National Defense Authorization Act would grow the National Guard's cyber roles and create a federal cybersecurity adviser for every state.

The National Governors Association backed a proposal that would allow National Guard units to respond remotely to cyber incidents across state lines.

The new bill would allow the Army and Air Force to create pilot programs in which one state's National Guard unit could help another's respond to cyberattack.

A new task force in Maryland was created to bolster cyberdefenses of state government websites as the coronavirus pandemic continues.