Applying Cybersecurity at the State and Local Government Level

Response

Cybersecurity is one of the essential aspects of an institution due o the rising cases of cyberattacks (de Bruijn & Janssen, 2017). Your introduction about cybersecurity in state and local government is incredible as it is easy to relate, using the examples you provided. State and local governments hold highly important information; hence cybersecurity ensures protection of the system and the information in it hence protected users. The Mat-Su Borough and city of Valdez are some of the world’s known cyberattacks that have occurred in history hence mentioning them in the introduction highlights the contents of the essay. Mat-Su as declared the worst of its kind of cyber-attacks, with its recovery value exceeding $2 million (Hollander, 2018), which shows the losses that an institution can incur due to cyberattacks. Other than the two incidents, the state of Alaska also underwent a cyberattack caused by the gaps identified in the cybersecurity system. The gaps provided an opportunity for cyberattacks to find a way through to the system. The introduction shows the importance of cybersecurity to an institution and how it can help prevent losses; as a result of a loss of information.

The state and local government agencies hold essential information about the public and the governments, which they use to run the states. Therefore, losing such information may compromise their actions in providing services and normal government operations. I support your comment that the DHS and the federal government should work to ensure the cybersecurity of the state and local government agencies as well as the public-private relationships. The collaboration would quickly ensure that the technological system being used in the agencies are highly protected from attacks and that the risks are prevented or easily identified by the staff. The security of the people depending on the state and local government depends on the safety of the information stored in the systems used in running the specified government agencies.I also think that the development of technology has made it easier for the prevention and mitigation of cyber risks to occur. Technological methods, such as artificial intelligence has been proven to help in mitigating threats in the IoT system (“Artificial Intelligence is key cybersecurity weapon in the IoT era: Research – ET CIO”, 2018). Therefore, institutions that use the internet of things could integrate its system with artificial intelligence hence any threats that occur are identified early enough and prevented before causing ham to the institution.

Also, just as the Mat-Su incident led to the implementation of procedures and policies to reduce risks, the local government require such regulations and also a provision of cyber education training to employees. The state government has a role to play in protecting the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure in the state (State of the States: The Role of State Governments in Protecting the Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure, 2019). However, to accomplish the role, the state government itself needs to have protected its information and put measures to prevent cyberattacks. Exposure to risks by the state government would lead to exposure to the critical infrastructure hence increasing the exposure to threats. Cybersecurity in state and local government helps to protect sensitive information, hence reducing the exposure to cyberattacks that may lead to losses in the future.

References

Artificial Intelligence is key cybersecurity weapon in the IoT era: Research – ET CIO. (2018). Retrieved 15 July 2020, from https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/digital-security/artificial-intelligence-is-key-cybersecurity-weapon-in-the-iot-era-research/66084064de Bruijn, H., & Janssen, M. (2017). Building Cybersecurity Awareness: The need for evidence-based framing strategies. Government Information Quarterly, 34(1), 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.giq.2017.02.007

Hollander, Z. (2018). Price tag for cyberattack on Mat-Su Borough now tops $2 million. Retrieved 15 July 2020, from https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat-su/2018/10/11/price-tag-for-mat-su-cyberattack-now-tops-2-million/

Globa Cyber Policy Watch. (2019). State of the States: The Role of State Governments in Protecting the Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure [Ebook].