Cybersecurity

Several state webpages were intermittently unavailable yesterday, and colorado.gov remains down. Killnet, a politically motivated, pro-Russia hacking group, has claimed credit for the disruptions.

In the wake of news that hackers released a trove of personal identifying information stolen from Los Angeles Unified School District, victims are advised to call the district's hotline and set up credit monitoring.

Other state government services and websites across the United States were reportedly targeted by the cyber attacker as well. The state launched a temporary homepage to replace the downed site.

CorrectHealth, a company focused on providing health-care services in correctional facilities, was breached in late August. The incident exposed the personal information of an estimated 54,000 inmates.

Former Howard County CISO John Bruns will serve as the new director of state cybersecurity, and emergency management specialist Netta Squires will take up the post of the director of local cybersecurity.

The May 26 incident compromised the town’s IT system and affected government email capabilities for several weeks. Officials say the intrusion was made possible by the Log4j vulnerability.

Election officials in Berks County began the arduous process of testing a warehouse full of voting machines ahead of the November elections. More than 800 machines will be put through their paces in the week-long test.

The university’s cybersecurity program has seen considerable growth since it started in 2007. Some 400 students are now enrolled and pursuing a career in a field that has had trouble attracting enough talent.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the Federal Trade Commission to pressure businesses to protect consumer data. He also urged the Department of Justice to strengthen investigations and prosecutions of hackers.

The cyber criminal group reportedly responsible for the attack has published 500GB of files containing Social Security numbers, passport details, student psychological assessments and other information.

The city of Buffalo has accepted access to the CrowdStrike cybersecurity platform as part of a no-cost partnership with the state’s Joint Security Operations Center, which launched earlier this year.

The federal agency tasked with safeguarding U.S. cyber infrastructure is pushing to make cybersecurity a “kitchen table issue.” Director Jen Easterly said her mission has been, in part, to cut the “nerdspeak.”

Officials with the Davenport Community School District reported that no information seemed to have been compromised when a hacker gained access to the computer system earlier this month.

Keeping up strong data breach defenses is tricky as technologies evolve and governments adjust to hybrid environments. Maricopa County CISO Lester Godsey explains why data inventorying, vendor risk management and cybersecurity audits are key.

Like many states, preparing for cyber incidents in Massachusetts includes everything from response planning to getting leadership and other departments engaged to disbursing funding to local governments.

After Fremont County called a declaration of local disaster because of a cyber attack against computer systems, departments have been steadily coming back online thanks to the county's IT team.

Two years in, the relatively young IT agency is working to build a team, build trust and build up, says CIO Jamie Grant. The process has required a significant shift away from "business as usual."

This week, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order that establishes a new Cybersecurity Planning Committee to guide the state. The group will include officials from state, local and tribal government.