As a result, the DHS is rarely the first contact on cybersecurity issues for government security staffers in Kansas, state CISO Larry Kettlewell said during the press conference.

"We've had a couple of experiences here in Kansas where frankly the federal government wasn't my first go-to [entity]," Kettlewell said. Instead, he said, he looked to the private sector because of the greater expertise and experience that security vendors have in dealing with cyberthreats.

Currently, Kettlewell's staff is trying to cope with the Nyxem worm, which is programmed to overwrite all of the files on computers it infects starting Feb. 3. "Frankly, I'm not looking at that much information from the federal government" about the worm, Kettlewell said.

DHS officials didn't respond to requests for comment about the surveys before publication time.