Cybersecurity

Officials at the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County said the entity, a water and sewer utility, recovered more than $826,000 stolen in a “vendor impersonator” phishing scheme. This, an expert said, is a rare occurrence.

Whether it be moving to the cloud or adopting artificial intelligence, the technology needs of government continue to evolve, and agencies must make sure that their technologists' skills evolve as well.

A state-level Cybersecurity Commission, enacted by law in 2021, is required to meet quarterly at a minimum, and to report annually to Gov. Mike Parson. The governor, however, has not appointed any commission members.

The federal cybersecurity agency's advisory group has recommended ways that the U.S. can improve critical infrastructure defense against nation-state threats and boost open source software security.

Bad actors often take advantage of natural disasters, and especially hurricanes, in times of crisis. Hurricanes Helene and Milton pose significant new online threats, including misinformation and fraud.

Cybersecurity chiefs are often viewed as inhibitors of innovation who are likely to veto new ideas in the interest of keeping systems safe. But as agencies increasingly lean on AI, CISOs must find a way to get to "yes."

Third-party risks are a high concern for a significant portion of CISOs, and recently the CISOs of New Hampshire and Kansas made time to discuss how they're handling related challenges in their states.

Proceedings are expected to continue as normal after Sonoma County Superior Court documents were exposed in a data breach this week, county officials said Wednesday.

Tech leaders from Kansas, Nebraska and New Hampshire recently shared insights into building talent pipelines, bringing on interns and other strategies to maintain robust workforces.

Abbeville High and other schools in the Vermilion Parish district were temporarily offline Monday after an intruder seemed to have compromised the network. Officials are still investigating the source of the problem.

The college is working with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Nuclear Security Administration on a new Center for Information Technology and Cybersecurity, which will offer bachelor's and associate degrees.

The three-year $200 million Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program opens its application window this fall. The near-term goal is to secure schools most in need, but long-term it will help nationwide.

In the September/October issue of Government Technology, we look at the current cybersecurity landscape as state and local governments work to boost their defenses.

The National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) held its annual conference in New Orleans, La., this past week. Here are some of the highlights, along with some thoughts about what the future holds for state CIOs.

As Nov. 5 approaches, we asked state CIOs what role they play in keeping elections fair, valid and cyber-safe.

Officials have confirmed that an attack that shut down technology last month at the public school district was ransomware. Since then, faculty have had to make do without new technology they adopted during COVID-19.

The new degree program, two years in the making, was launched with collaboration from Red Rocks, Arapahoe and Pueblo community colleges. The Colorado Springs area is a “cybersecurity hot spot,” the program director said.

Given the surge of ransomware attacks and increasing costs of payments to unlock stolen data in 2024, some states have banned public ransomware payments. But experts are divided on whether it's the right move.