A northern Kentucky mayor and self-described nerd want state lawmakers to build a cybersecurity army of sorts.

Fort Wright Mayor Dave Hatter says neighboring Ohio has recruited the state National Guard and citizen techies to participate in cybersecurity drills and hopes Kentucky could do the same.

Here's some recent good press they got out of the Cincinnati media market about the drills they're doing with the Ohio National Guard and the public private partnership they've created with businesses like ours to get people trained up and be in a position to respond to crisis is to go out and do education, that sort of thing.

This is an initiative they do every year now, a formal several day training period where they bring in people from the National Guard.

They bring in citizens, citizens who are part of this cyber reserve, and they go through this extensive training session.

So, again, they're preparing people to be able to hit the street in the event of some sort of crisis.

Kentucky colleges are offering more cybersecurity, bachelor's and certificate programs.

Bullitt County Republican says that's just one piece of the puzzle.

State Senator Mike Nemetz proposed the Kentucky Cybersecurity Center in 2023, offering support to local and state governments, law enforcement and businesses.