Cybersecurity

How one state looks to shared cyber services to defend rural areas

Colorado plans to leverage federal grant dollars to help its smaller communities protect themselves and expand a shared security operations center to track threats.

  • By Chris Teale

How smaller agencies are working to close their technology talent gaps

From innovative fellowships to nixing degree requirements on job listings, smaller agencies are getting scrappy when it comes to hiring tech and cyber talent. 

  • By Chris Riotta

Is your TikTok account hiding enemies of the state? How do you know?

Some lawmakers are trying to ban the app from government-owned devices, a move experts say will strengthen cybersecurity.

  • By Justin Sweitzer

How to talk to users about cybersecurity

User-friendly login tools and clear communication go a long way toward getting staff in step with cybersecurity protocols.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Turning hackers’ behavior against them

By identifying psychological biases of hackers, a new program aims to develop proactive network defenses that go beyond tech-based solutions and rely on analysis of attackers’ behavior to thwart them.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

State mandates K-12 cyber education

North Dakota is the first state in the nation to require cybersecurity education be integrated into K-12 classrooms.

  • By Susan Miller

CISA gives ransomware victims a heads-up

The Pre-Ransomware Notification Initiative takes advantage of the time between initial penetration and data theft or encryption to notify victims so they can identify and eliminate hackers from their system.

  • By Susan Miller

Senators request cyber safety analysis of Chinese-owned DJI drones

Lawmakers raised concerns that sensitive data could leak to adversaries through foreign-owned consumer technology. 

  • By Alexandra Kelley

Florida city water cyber incident allegedly caused by employee error

Al Braithwaite, the former city manager of Oldsmar, Florida, said the 2021 episode was not caused by outside hackers but was instead a “non-event” sparked by user error.

  • By Chris Teale

What is the National Cybersecurity Strategy? A cybersecurity expert explains what it is and what the Biden administration has changed

The National Cybersecurity Strategy outlines a need for improved cyber hygiene through cyber insurance, data sharing and fostering technology research.

  • By Richard Forno, The Conversation

CISA: Election security still under threat at cyber and physical level

Threats enacted by state-sponsored actors during the 2022 election have highlighted the need for “continued vigilance” in upcoming elections, said CISA Election Security Advisor Kim Wyman.

  • By Alexandra Kelley

State cyber workforce challenges reaching ‘crisis levels’

By marketing themselves better and adapting to remote work, states can attract and retain more cybersecurity workers, a new report suggests.

  • By Chris Teale

Remember user experience in the zero trust journey

Education, user-friendly technologies and leadership buy in can help bring employees onboard.

  • By Chris Teale

ChatGPT could make phishing more sophisticated

The latest version’s greater “steerability” allows users to vary the style and tone of generated text to make scams even harder to detect.

  • By Chris Teale
Featured eBooks

NSA offers new tips on zero trust and identity

New zero trust guidance for government agencies highlights best practices for maturing identity and access controls.

  • By Natalie Alms

CISA launches pilot to spot ransomware vulnerabilities

By uncovering vulnerabilities associated with known exploits, CISA can warn critical infrastructure organizations so they can mitigate issues before a ransomware incident occurs.

  • By Susan Miller

Password mismanagement still at the heart of security issues

While many government employees reuse credentials that have been compromised and put online, one expert warned MFA is not the “silver bullet” solution.

  • By Chris Teale

Report: Increased remote work for many governments also raises cyber risks

Roughly one-third of government employees believe “their actions don’t matter when it comes to security,” according to a new survey.

  • By Edward Graham

New bills look to help small water systems tap cybersecurity assistance

New legislation looks to set aside $10 million to help subsidize fees for small utilities to join the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

  • By Carten Cordell

Acting national cyber director offers new details on upcoming cyber workforce strategy

The forthcoming plan is meant to accompany an overarching cyber strategy released last week that industry groups and cybersecurity experts said would be challenging to implement given the nation’s cyber workforce woes. 

  • By Chris Riotta

NIST renews cyber center partnership, launches small business focus

The agency renewed its partnerships that support the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence and launched the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Community of Interest.

  • By Kirsten Errick