Cybersecurity

Florida might soon establish a national first within its Secretary of State’s Office: the Office of Election Crimes and Security. The 15-person office would be required to report its activities to the Florida Legislature.

The National Science Foundation added eight universities to its CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program and will award $29 million of scholarships to students who agree to work in government cybersecurity post-graduation.

A federal judge is waiting on proposals from Georgia election officials who are suing over election security before potentially releasing a report that indicates how hackers can manipulate votes in Georgia elections.

The editorial board of the Buffalo News implores New York state lawmakers to set aside funding and other resources to help school districts, including rural ones, prepare for cyber threats such as ransomware.

The FBI has issued a warning that cyber criminals are tampering with quick response (QR) codes as part of illegal efforts to steal users’ login and financial information through malicious sites.

Legislation advancing toward a final vote in the Alaska Legislature would allow the governor to declare similar cyber attacks a formal “disaster,” unlocking quicker funding and emergency responses.

The $190 million merger aims to combine their online education programs and expand professional development training for IT security professionals, given the projected need for them in both the public and private sectors.

States working to thwart ransomware need strong patching, backup and access management approaches. But they also can’t afford to forget about employee experience or fostering trust with local government.

Aurora wishes to expand its fiber-optic network in multiple ways this year. Goals include connecting the municipal airport to the network and providing a single secure network for water and sewer systems.

According to a confidential report, hackers can alter votes by taking control of Georgia's voting system touchscreens. Despite the reported vulnerability, state election officials are staying relatively mum.

Given that Washington, D.C., and Russia are at odds over Ukraine, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters said there's an urgent need for more federal cybersecurity programs and funding to prepare for any Russia-linked cyber attacks.

According to officials at the Spokane Regional Health District, a phishing attack could have revealed the personal medical information of over one thousand people. The attack happened last month.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach received an almost $3.9 million National Science Foundation grant, which it will use to create 20 scholarships for students in aerospace cybersecurity and aviation.

The Colorado Secretary of State is looking into whether a county clerk has committed an elections security breach. The clerk is scheduled to appear at a deposition in early February.

The recently passed legislation reinforces cybersecurity and reporting measures and requires water purveyors in the state to develop cybersecurity programs, policies, processes and procedures.

The deal models a new enterprise-focused approach, says CIO Jamie Grant. The Florida Digital Service is pushing to better vet IT procurements, launch a cybersecurity operations center and win the trust of other agencies.

Created by the Air Force Association for K-12 students across the U.S., the CyberPatriot competition tasks them with finding cybersecurity weaknesses and strengthening a network's defenses against hackers.

Texas has refused to modernize and create an online voter registration system. As a result, communities across the state have less accurate voter rolls, and taxpayer money is wasted on paper.