WARREN — On the day Trumbull County commissioners passed a resolution aiming to thwart cyber threats, Commissioner Denny Malloy asked the county’s information technology department to look into an email sent to county officials from his office email account.

“I just got notified by a township trustee that there are some emails going out from my county email and it is under the title of Trumbull County officials that’s asking these trustees to sign in using a code to receive a message,” Malloy said during the weekly commissioners meeting on Wednesday. “I did not send out this email.”

The resolution establishes a framework for protecting the county’s information systems, data and services against cyber threats. Ohio HB 92 aligns with the National Institute of Standards and Technology cybersecurity framework.

“All of the departments will have training,” said Tim Haniford, the auditor office’s chief deputy and the county’s information technology chief.

Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder told commissioners that cities and townships also will have to establish their own cyber security programs. The Ohio’s auditor office will assist townships and villages in establishing their programs.

“Their programs will not be as extensive as the county’s,” she said.

Yoder explained that the law is designed to keep the data of local governments safe and secure.

The training will teach employees how to spot cyber threats, like phishing emails or suspicious links, and how to keep the county’s systems safe, according to Haniford.

Haniford noted the county must create a plan to handle cyber incidents, such as ransomware attacks, where hackers lock up a computer system and demand money to unlock it.

House Bill 92 requires counties to report any cyber incidents to the state and to have secure backups of their data to avoid paying ransoms. The cybersecurity program itself will not be shared with the public.

“This is our protection for the county,” Yoder said, explaining that keeping the details private helps prevent hackers from finding weaknesses.