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Minnesota IT Services urges continued investment in cybersecurity and cloud modernization at committee hearing
Summary
Minnesota IT Services Commissioner Tarek Tomes told the House State Government Finance and Policy Committee on Feb. 25 that MNIT supports more than 41,000 state employees, manages roughly 2,700 line‑of‑business applications and handles about 40,000 support incidents per month; he highlighted investments from the technology modernization fund, a "
At the Feb. 25 House State Government Finance and Policy Committee hearing, Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) Commissioner Tarek Tomes outlined the agencys role supporting state technology, cybersecurity and cloud modernization and urged continued legislative support for ongoing investments.
Tomes said MNIT supports "over 41,000 state employees on a ongoing, really 24 by 7 basis," manages roughly 2,700 line‑of‑business applications and typically handles about 40,000 incidents per month. He said MNIT also tracks and responds to cybersecurity incidents and reported more than 5,000 security incidents a year across the state enterprise and partner organizations.
The commissioner cited the technology modernization fund (a recent legislative appropriation) as enabling work on technical debt and risky legacy systems, and he described the states multi‑cloud approach and a cloud transformation that reduced the number of independent data centers to six. He said cloud adoption improves resiliency and allows agencies to scale capacity for seasonal or cyclical demand.
Tomes highlighted whole‑of‑state cybersecurity efforts and a state program that subsidizes basic cyber defenses for schools, local governments and other smaller entities. He emphasized that cybersecurity is an ongoing, recurring expense and that continued funding is required to maintain defenses.
MNIT also described identity verification services available through login.mn.gov, which the department said supports identity assurance (NIST IAL/AL‑like levels referred to as IL1–3 in testimony) to authenticate users for higher‑trust transactions. Tomes said that capability supports initiatives such as modernized citizen services and secure access to state systems.
Committee members praised MNITs work, asked about the cloud vendor mix and competition, and sought more detail on specific projects. Tomes said the state pursues a multi‑cloud strategy and intentionally uses multiple providers to meet agency needs and to preserve market competition. He also credited legislative partners and the Technology Advisory Committee for advising state IT priorities.
The department asked lawmakers to consider funding for cybersecurity and for modernization that protects services for Minnesotans, and MNIT staff said they will continue to provide reports requested by the committee.
Sources: Testimony of Tarek Tomes (Commissioner, MNIT) and Deputy Commissioner (Mr.) Eichton before the House State Government Finance and Policy Committee on Feb. 25, 2025.
