Recently, the Biden Administration passed an infrastructure bill which included about $1 trillion in funding to government cybersecurity. This shone a new and much-needed light on the fact that government organizations, and the people within them, should be aware and diligent when it comes to cyber threats.
Recently, a number of cybersecurity attacks showed the U.S. Government the importance of having a secure infrastructure, designed to withstand cyber threats. With so much of day-to-day life moving online both as a result of the pandemic and due to evolving technology, cyberattacks are more and more commonplace. However, state and local governments, especially ones located in more rural areas, are often ill-equipped to handle them.
With this funding, Senator Maggie Hassan, who was a key influence in including the funds in this bill for this reason specifically, hopes to provide state and local governments with the tools and resources necessary to strengthen their cybersecurity.
With these issues finally being brought to light and resources being diverted to them, it might be time to take a look at your own government branch and see where you can improve the cybersecurity measures within your own team of government employees.
There is no training or measures required for state and local governments to take to improve cybersecurity. This both places the burden of responsibility on management and allows you to honestly evaluate the needs of your branch and request the appropriate resources.
Something as simple as providing your team with online resources and training can be crucial to strengthening cybersecurity and protecting the infrastructure and economy of your community
Perhaps the more rural areas and their local governments were without resources to provide this sort of training to your team before. But now, with a new push towards not only encouraging re-enforcement in this area, but also providing the funding to allow it, getting local government employees trained via simple, effective, and cheap online courses is easier than ever!