State and Local Governments Make Progress Against Ransomware mol.doak_yUxs Thu, 05/23/2024 - 09:36 State and local governments are highlighted in a new report that provides a mixed assessment of the effects of ransomware attacks on global organizations. But despite some positive news, the report also illustrates why it’s vitally important for state and local governments to have strong cyber recovery strategies in place to reduce downtime and restore essential functions quickly and efficiently. Sophos’s The State of Ransomware 2024 report, released April 30, found that just 34 percent of state ..read more

How to Offboard State and Local Government IT Staff Members mol.doak_yUxs Thu, 05/16/2024 - 11:17 In 2023, 77 percent of state and local government CIOs surveyed by the MissionSquare Research Institute said that government workers leaving their jobs voluntarily has “put a strain on their workload.” This exodus of employees is particularly problematic for IT departments because government staff often leave behind a complex web of credentials, licenses and data — elements that, if mishandled, could compromise institutional integrity. As workers leave government, state and local agencies face th ..read more

NASCIO 2024 Midyear: Security Officials Prioritize Third-Party Risk Management Mickey McCarter Thu, 05/02/2024 - 11:34 Andy Hanks, who formerly served as Montana’s CISO, was once reminded the hard way to ensure that vendor contracts contain thorough security policies. “The best thing to learn from is making mistakes,” acknowledged Hanks, now senior director of cybersecurity advisory services for the Center for Internet Security (CIS), addressing the midyear conference of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. “It’s really important to understand what systems your vendor ..read more

Extreme Connect 2024: Texas Officials Spotlight Cybersecurity Cooperation Mickey McCarter Thu, 04/25/2024 - 09:21 “One of our biggest challenges is tackling the whole-of-state approach to cybersecurity,” said Texas CIO Amanda Crawford in a chat with Extreme Networks Chief Marketing Officer Monica Kumar on Wednesday. Crawford and Seguin CIO Shane McDaniel addressed a sold-out audience on a very busy and productive day at Extreme Connect 2024, emphasizing that cybersecurity cooperation between levels of government remains top of mind for them, in Fort Worth, Texas. Speaking in a morning general ..read more

Rethinking the Weakest Link in State Government Cybersecurity mol.doak_yUxs Mon, 04/22/2024 - 08:32 Recent cyberattacks in Fulton County, Ga., Contra Costa County, Calif., and the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender have prompted widespread delays and forced state and local entities to shut down voter registration, phone, tax, court and other essential systems — underscoring the urgent need for secure digital transformation. Ransomware attacks targeting cities, states, municipalities, law enforcement and other public entities are expected to grow, according to Zscaler’s latest Ransom ..read more

Smarter Government: Lodi, Calif., Improves the City’s Cyber Resilience After suffering a ransomware attack in 2019, Benjamin Buecher, IT manager for Lodi, Calif., and his team upgraded their cyberdefenses to include Rubrik Cloud Data Management. The robust backup and disaster recovery solution simplified the city’s IT environment. Rubrik helps to ensure that Lodi can restore its systems quickly if a cyberattack strikes. Buecher tells StateTech how the city discovered and implemented the solution. mol.doak_yUxs Tue, 04/16/2024 - 10:35 Tweet text After suffering a #ransomware attack, @CityofL ..read more

The Triple-Layer Approach for State and Local Government Cyberdefenses mol.doak_yUxs Wed, 04/10/2024 - 10:45 In an age when cyberthreats loom large, government agencies are prime targets, and safeguarding sensitive information has never been more critical. How can state and local government agencies properly protect their confidential information before it gets into the wrong hands, thereby averting financial disaster? The answer is simple, but it’s complex to execute. It begins with identifying the vulnerable entry points where these bad actors can get in. In many cases, this means networked ..read more

6 Steps (and More) for Improving Election Security for Local Agencies mol.doak_yUxs Mon, 03/11/2024 - 10:54 As the 2024 election season continues, local jurisdictions administering voting sites should seek to ensure strong cybersecurity for their organizations. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency provides some starting points for doing so in its #Protect2024 campaign. Here are six steps recommended by CISA. 1. Enable Multifactor Authentication MFA requires more than simply a username and password to access data and resources. In addition to a password, a system may requi ..read more

Arctic Wolf CISO Outlines Election Security Measures mol.doak_yUxs Tue, 03/05/2024 - 13:29 With election security a top concern, Arctic Wolf commissioned the Center for Digital Government to survey over 130 state and local government leaders about their perceived state of readiness. Spoiler alert: They don’t feel ready. StateTech talked to Arctic Wolf CISO Adam Marrè about the survey findings and how election officials and IT leaders can safeguard the vote. STATETECH: Why did Arctic Wolf undertake this survey? MARRÈ: We wanted to measure state and local IT and cybersecurity leaders' attitudes ..read more

5 Things Government Agencies Should Know About Continuous Authentication mol.doak_yUxs Mon, 03/04/2024 - 09:44 Continuous authentication is a tweak to traditional authentication methods, turning log-in-at-the-start authentication into more active monitoring. The usual goal is to reduce the security risk from stolen or borrowed credentials or malware-infected workstations. Here are five things to know about this authentication method. What Is Continuous Authentication? After users log in and are authenticated, they are monitored continuously to verify that the person sitting in front of a work ..read more