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Virginia Officials Discuss Security Gaps

Local governments find they are low-hanging fruit for Internet criminals.

On the digital front, local governments and the federal government are facing similar threats. Following a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed in which President Obama called for increased security against cyberattacks, many localities are finding need to beef up their own security. At Christopher Newport University in Virginia, security experts and government officials gathered recently to discuss cyberthreats, reported the Daily Press.

Bruce Sturk, the director of federal faculties support for Hampton, Va., called for increased vigilance as part of the Symposium on Homeland Security. "There's not a lot out there," he said. "We're all on shoestring budgets. We're very much vulnerable. The IT folks are working diligently. We're trying to bring those communities up to a level that is at least comparable to the big cities."

A public-private effort to address cyberthreats across municipalities in Virginia was launched in late 2010 throgh a project called Virginia's Operational Integrated Cyber Center of Excellence (VOICCE). With $500,000 in funding from the Department of Homeland Security, the program aims to increase awareness of information security issues in government.

For an in-depth report of Virginia’s Symposium on Homeland Security, read the full article at the Daily Press website.