The Tribal Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Tribal-ISAC) on Wednesday officially released its first report, “The Pulse – The State of Cybersecurity Within Tribal Nations.” The report, produced by the Tribal-ISAC with assistance from TribalHub, was initialy released during the annual TribalNet Conference and Tradeshow in early September.
The report features cybersecurity insights and trends gathered from three key sources: Tribal-ISAC’s 2025 “Tribal Cybersecurity” survey; TribalHub’s “How Prepared is Your Tribe for AI?” survey; and Gate 15’s CHIEF and NATIVE Reports.
“The Pulse provides something we’ve never had before — data-driven insight into the real cyber risks facing Tribal Nations,” said Tribal-ISAC Steering Committee Member and IT Director at Potawatomi Casino Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Adam Gruszcynski. “It gives leaders the ability to benchmark, prioritize, and advocate for the resources they need to protect their sovereignty.”
Data from The Pulse indicates what Tribal-ISAC has observed in recent years: Tribal governments, gaming and hospitality properties, and enterprises are demonstrating a growing commitment to cybersecurity. However, most tribes continue to operate with small information technology teams.
Key statistics reported in The Pulse:
- More than two-thirds report zero or only one dedicated cybersecurity staff member, despite facing similar regulatory pressures as larger entities.
- Budget allocations remain modest, with more than 60% dedicating less than 20% of their technology budget to cybersecurity.
- 73% of respondents anticipate increased cybersecurity spending in 2026, and 1% expect a decrease, signaling a shift toward resilience and threat mitigation.
- 74% of organizations received no federal or state cybersecurity grants in 2025.
“By sharing these findings, we hope to raise awareness of the underlying risk factors that compromise tribal cyber resilience and collective solutions that strengthen cybersecurity for all tribal governments and enterprises,” said Tribal-ISAC Steering Committee Member Toni Pepper.
The mission of the Tribal-ISAC is to strengthen the security posture of tribes, with a focus on cybersecurity and all-hazard threats in a collaborative environment that encourages tribes to share and mitigate threat information, exchange best practices, and serve as a conduit for security information sharing.
