September 9, 2024, Press Release from the Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation: (COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted, who serves as Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, today announced that nearly 1,000 Ohio high school students participated in the 2024 High School Tech Internship program, providing them with real-world experience in tech-related roles at an early age.

September 4, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of State Fire Marshal: COLUMBUS, Ohio – To help ensure transparency related to its grants programs, the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of State Fire Marshal has unveiled a new interactive online dashboard that allows users to easily, quickly and accurately search for grant funds that have been awarded to fire departments throughout the state. Information on the dashboard is available for each of the past five years. The new online resource is available to fire departments, media outlets and the general public, allowing easy access to up-to-date information regarding grant funding that has been awarded in support of MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communications), equipment and training initiatives. Additional key features of the dashboard include the ability to sort and filter grants by county and grant type, and also search for grants by individual department.

August 12, 2024, Press Release from the FBI Cleveland Division: [Cleveland, OH.]  Today, FBI Cleveland announced the disruption of “Radar/Dispossessor,” the criminal ransomware group led by the online moniker ‘Brain,’ and the dismantling of three US servers, three UK servers, 18 German servers, eight US-based criminal domains, and one German-based criminal domain. Since its inception in August 2023, Radar/Dispossessor has quickly developed into an internationally impactful ransomware group, targeting, and attacking small to mid-sized businesses and organizations from the production, development, education, healthcare, financial services, and transportation sectors. Originally focused on entities in the USA, the investigation discovered 43 companies as victims of the attacks, from countries including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Honduras, India, Canada, Croatia, Peru, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Germany. During its investigation, the FBI identified a multitude of websites associated with Brain and his team.

5th District Congressman Bob Latta sponsoring a bill to strengthen national cybersecurity. If passed, the "ROUTERS Act" would require the U.S. Department of Commerce to look into national security threats from routers and modems sold in the United States that were manufactured by companies with ties to foreign adversaries like China, Russia, Iran, or Cuba. A compromised router could allow hackers to install malware or view data in any home, business, or government agency where it's installed.

In a media release Wednesday, Crown Equipment says they were victims of a cyberattack from an international cybercriminal organization. The attack has temporarily shut down its operating system so the incident can be investigated and resolved. The company is working with the world's leading cybersecurity experts and federal law enforcement to analyze the data and determine the next step. 

June 4, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of State Fire Marshal: Columbus, OH – The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of State Fire Marshal’s (SFM’s) Forensic Laboratory has been awarded a $239,250 grant to purchase cutting-edge technology to enhance its investigation capabilities. The Forensic Lab investigates fires and explosions that occur across the state.

May 17, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Development: (COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Ohio Department of Development's office of BroadbandOhio today announced another milestone in its continuing mission of providing high-speed internet access to all Ohioans. Ohio received nearly $800 million from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program last summer to expand internet access to Ohioans currently caught in the digital divide. As part of the process, BroadbandOhio is asking key stakeholders to help ensure Ohioans who lack connectivity are represented. From May 28, 2024, through June 17, 2024, internet service providers, local governments, and nonprofit organizations can submit challenges to the federal broadband map by identifying all eligible addresses in their communities. After the 21-day challenge window closes, a 21-day rebuttal phase to provide counter evidence to challenges will open July 1, 2024, and run until July 22, 2024. A final, 30-day determination phase will then run from July 23, 2024, to Aug. 21, 2024. 

May 13, 2024, Press Release from the office of Governor Mike DeWine: (COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Today, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and representatives from the Ohio Expo Center & State Fairgrounds broke ground on two buildings to revitalize the fairgrounds in Columbus, the Ohio Showcase Building and the new agriculture building. The projects are part of the long-term master plan recommended by the Expo 2050 Task Force. Governor DeWine created the task force in 2019 to develop a strategic vision for the future of the 360-acre state fairgrounds, which has been home to the Ohio State Fair since 1886. Once constructed, the Ohio Showcase Building will house a food hall and exhibit space to tell the story of Ohio’s people, land, communities, and innovation. The food hall will house six restaurants/vendors that will offer unique regional dishes from throughout Ohio, with ample indoor and outdoor dining space. This building is slated for completion in 2026.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose met with the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office to discuss measures in place to keep all polling places open. No locations were damaged in the Auglaize area, and those that did lose power are running generators to remain open for early voting. The state is also checking in with poll workers to see if they're alright and will still be able to work on election day.