Market Segment
Cyber attacks on state and local governments have increased dramatically. There were 140 ransomware attacks targeting public institutions, state governments, local governments, and healthcare providers (an average of 3 per day). Compared to the previous year, it has grown by 65%.
In last few months, four cities in the United States were attacked by ransomware. All of these cities, including New Orleans and Pensacola, Florida, have disrupted or suspended critical government services. After a ransomware attack on New Orleans, the mayor was forced to declare a state of emergency. In Pensacola, the health department lost its email and phone systems, Internet servers and online payment system.
When an encrypted ransomware attack took Baltimore’s IT systems hostage, it froze thousands of state computers and disrupted everything from real estate sales to paying water bills. Even with the help of the FBI, Secret Service and cyber security experts, the cost to the city is estimated at an astronomical $18 million.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, recently issued a statement warning against cyberattacks and encouraging their adoption. Better cyber security practices.
What can state and local governments do to address this challenge? IT teams working in local institutions often do so with very few people and large budgets. Therefore, in the face of recent threats, improving cyber security is imperative, but it is difficult to know where to start.
So, start by protecting your most important assets. Government agencies often have access to large amounts of personally identifiable information and other types of data that can be disastrous if attackers get their hands on it. If privileged access to this data is secure, the most important information will be secure in the event of a network breach.
Privileged access is the gateway to these critical assets, and privileged credentials at risk have played a central role in nearly all major targeted attacks. It’s a great starting point for protecting state and local systems from the constant stream of cyber attackers. That’s why the Center for Internet Security (CIS) lists the use of administrator privileges as the fourth essential CIS control behind only hardware and software asset inventory and control and continuous vulnerability management.
A typical attack mechanism is as follows. Cyber attackers begin by creating a bridge at the endpoint of the organization they are targeting for intrusion. After gaining initial access and establishing stability, the attacker escalates privileges to gain access to another system and get one step closer to the target. From there, the attacker can continue to move laterally until the target is reached, information is stolen, operations are disrupted, or the hijack is completely hijacked.
You need help and we can provide security where it’s needed most by protecting the privileged credentials needed by cyber attackers. In the face of an onslaught of cyberattacks, state and local governments need more than ever to develop proactive and sustainable cybersecurity programs. Instead of getting overwhelmed, start by managing privileged access and protect your most important assets.
50% increase in cyber attacks on state and local governments
Government agencies can build security by considering adequate backups, defense-in-depth planning, and following the principle of least privilege, where people on the network can only access the information they need to do their jobs. In addition, the agency needs visibility into the entire network so it can be monitored 24 hours a day
The ongoing digitization of all aspects of modern life has not stopped at eliminating government. As online and data usage increases, government databases become a prime target for hackers and cyber warfare activities. According to author Richard Clarke, cyber warfare is defined as nation-state action
Our goal is to help people in the best way possible. This is a basic principle in every case and cause for success. contact us today for a free consultation.
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