Speed vs. security in the age of pandemic

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

The pandemic forced agencies to balance the need for quick action with ensuring that security processes were followed and controls put into place.

The sudden imperative to move state employees to remote work followed by the unprecedented flow of billions into states coffers to pay unemployment benefits has created big headaches for government agencies.

Sophisticated fraudsters have been waiting patiently for just this moment -- the convergence of a flood of government funding and new, lax controls to allow money to get to applicants quickly. Armed with personally identifiable information obtained through data breaches and sold on the dark web, these fraudsters have applied for state unemployment compensation under false pretenses, diverting millions of taxpayer dollars and causing havoc for program officials and legitimate applicants. In addition, in states where mobile applications were quickly developed so applicants could apply conveniently via their smart phones, normal controls and processes were not implemented and, in some cases, security was compromised.

The move to remote work also led to some malicious activity as government agencies were forced to rapidly deploy remote-access solutions that were not designed to accommodate a surge of growth. Again, to get the workforce to be productive quickly, some security processes and controls were relaxed or waived.

Obviously, the pandemic forced government to balance the need for quick action against ensuring that security processes were followed and controls put into place. In the battle between speed and security, however, speed often won.  Fraudsters, always watching for vulnerability and opportunity, pounced. And they are still pouncing.

In retrospect, better cybersecurity controls could have been baked into payment processes from the beginning. This upfront activity could have largely prevented the incident and response efforts that inevitably occur when security becomes an afterthought. However, hindsight is not helpful now, so what can be done going forward to bolster security and prevent fraud?

Government agencies should examine every key decision since work-from-home orders began. They should conduct risk assessments, understand the threats, vulnerabilities and consequences – and reimagine security tools and processes that should have been built in.  Rather than thinking it’s too late and giving up, agencies should re-evaluate remote access and newly implemented collaboration tools, especially those involving third parties. For unemployment claims, agencies should re-examine modified applications and mobile apps to assure security. They must also look into privileged access, which may have changed, and continue to apply risk management concepts.

Above all, agencies must continue to focus on the fundamentals and make them integral to their culture. These include access management (especially for privileged users), training and awareness, consistent software patching, regular antivirus updates and well-tested business continuity and resilience processes.

While these measures can certainly help in the short term, the real solution is longer term.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the need to be resilient -- and that is especially true for government technology systems.

Broadly speaking, what has occurred over the past three months should cause government organizations to think about the next crisis and build systems that can adapt to whatever happens -- whether it is a sudden need for remote work solutions, a major program change to respond to an economic collapse or the constant need to stay one step ahead of hackers and fraudsters.  In short, agencies must evolve with the environment.

When agencies anticipate disruption, technology transformation projects can be planned with resilience and adaptability in mind. Cloud-based operations must be considered for critical applications because the cloud can provide the agility, efficiency and the elasticity needed during both normal business operations and unpredictable times.

The need for speed may always conflict with concerns about preventing fraud and bolstering security. But one thing is sure: Future systems must be built for resilience, because the next technology upheaval could be right around the corner.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.