Protect students, citizens, and critical services.
Cybersecurity advisory for state and local government, K-12 school districts, and higher education. We help superintendents, CIOs, and CISOs stand up formal security programs, meet state mandates like Ohio HB 96, and reduce ransomware risk on tight public budgets.
Public sector and education organizations face the same threats as the largest enterprises with a fraction of the staff and budget. State legislatures are responding with new mandates: cybersecurity programs, incident reporting deadlines, and ransomware payment restrictions. Districts and agencies need to move from ad hoc operations to documented, framework-aligned programs without disrupting the services they exist to deliver.
Yearling Solutions brings practitioners with decades of cybersecurity, GRC, and former CISO experience. We have led the build-out of formal NIST CSF programs for the largest public school district in Ohio and we apply that same playbook to municipalities, agencies, universities, and community colleges.
Frameworks & Regulatory Context
The standards, regulations, and guidance that shape security programs in public sector & education.
NIST CSF 2.0
Maturity assessment, current vs. target profiles, and prioritized roadmaps for public sector adoption.
Ohio HB 96 / CyberOhio
Readiness for Ohio's school cybersecurity mandate including IRP, governance, and 7-day and 30-day reporting workflows.
CIS Controls
Implementation Group prioritization for resource-constrained public sector and education environments.
CJIS Security Policy
Criminal justice information system security advisory for agencies handling FBI CJIS data.
FERPA & Student Data Privacy
Student record privacy controls and vendor management for K-12 and higher education.
GLBA Safeguards (Higher Ed)
GLBA Safeguards Rule alignment for institutions handling student financial information.
What We're Seeing
The security realities driving conversations with public sector & education leaders today.
Ransomware against schools and municipalities
K-12 districts and local governments are among the most-targeted ransomware victims. Recovery takes weeks when backups, segmentation, and incident plans have not been tested.
State legislative mandates
New laws like Ohio HB 96 require documented programs, mandatory reporting deadlines, and formal approval for ransom payments. Compliance has to be demonstrated, not assumed.
Identity sprawl across staff, students, and contractors
Rotating student populations, BYOD, and shared devices create identity and access challenges that drive both incidents and audit findings.
Limited cybersecurity staffing
Most districts and agencies cannot recruit a full security team. Fractional executive advisory and clear runbooks let small teams operate at a much higher maturity level.
How We Help
Practitioner-led cybersecurity services tailored to public sector & education.
NIST CSF Program Build-Out
- Current vs. target maturity profile across the six CSF functions
- Governance, policy, and procedure development
- Prioritized investment roadmap covering people, process, and technology
- Board-ready executive deliverables and ongoing reporting
State Mandate & HB 96 Readiness
- Ohio HB 96 cybersecurity readiness assessment and crosswalk
- Incident response plan aligned to 7-day and 30-day reporting deadlines
- Ransomware payment policy and legislative resolution workflows
- Crosswalks to NIST CSF and state-mandated control sets
Incident Response & Tabletop Exercises
- Tailored, actionable IR plans for districts, cities, and campuses
- Tabletop exercises with cabinet, board, and IT leadership
- Playbooks for ransomware, data exfiltration, and student safety incidents
- Post-incident review and corrective action support
Executive Security Advisory (vCISO)
- Embedded fractional CISO with public sector and education experience
- Direct support to superintendents, mayors, and trustees
- Cybersecurity briefings for boards and councils
- Vendor and procurement risk advisory for state contracts and EdTech
Perfect For
Public sector and education organizations building formal cybersecurity programs.
K-12 school districts standing up a formal program to meet state cybersecurity mandates
Higher education institutions aligning to NIST CSF and the GLBA Safeguards Rule
Municipalities and counties responding to ransomware exposure on flat networks
State agencies building incident response and reporting workflows for new legislation
Public utilities and special districts maturing OT and IT security together
Educational service centers offering shared cybersecurity services to member districts
Proof in Public Sector & Education
Real engagements with measurable outcomes.
Ohio's largest public school system builds formal cybersecurity program to meet HB 96 mandate
Executive Security Advisory engagement that moved the district from ad hoc operations to a NIST CSF 2.0-aligned program with HB 96 reporting readiness across 127 schools.
Read case studyCyber ResilienceHeavy equipment dealer advances operational resilience through cyber assessment
Multi-phase cyber resilience engagement covering perimeter, segmentation, and detection. The same playbook we apply to municipal and education environments.
Read case studyPair Advisory With Platform
YearlingIQ Compliance Platform
Pair advisory work with our platform to centralize NIST CSF, CIS, and state mandate evidence and reporting.
Ready to meet your state's cybersecurity mandate?
Talk with practitioners who have built formal cybersecurity programs for the largest public school system in Ohio and other public sector organizations.