The cat-and-mouse game between threat actors and cybersecurity professionals continued unabated in 2023, with new threats designed to avoid detection. Many of these threats are new takes on old ones, such as “leveling up” invoice fraud. And ransomware attacks are evolving; rather than encrypting victims’ data, they are straightforwardly stealing the information and extorting payment by threatening to post the info online or t...

Cybersecurity has always contended with evolving threats. As the internet has become more embedded into social and economic life and smart phones, tablets and other handheld devices become ubiquitous, bad actors have devised new attacks to capitalize on new vulnerabilities. And just as agencies are implementing zero trust architecture to help with this wave, other IT developments are threatening to upend cybersecurity even more. For instance,...

Zero trust revolutionizes network security architecture because it is data-centric and designed to stop data breaches. While that is its primary purpose for government, it also increases agility for modern networks that traditional network designs can’t emulate. It has been almost two years since the Office of Management and Budget issued its federal zero trust architecture strategy, which set out specific goals for agencies to achieve b...

State and local governments and education produce large amounts of unstructured data in a wide range of data types. From student report cards that contain personally identifiable information (PII) to municipal tax rolls full of information that fraudsters want to steal, these organizations have a data protection challenge on their hands. Keeping these diverse data sets safe and ensuring their high availability are essential for smooth educatio...

Cybersecurity professionals working for state and local agencies and educational systems are likely already aware that cyber attacks targeting their organizations are increasing sharply – the second quarter of 2023 saw a 40% increase over the first quarter of the year. System defenders face the ongoing challenges of resource constraints, increasingly complex networks, and data overload. Add in emerging cyber threats from the accelerating...

Recent headlines have been full of stories about state and local governments and school systems being targeted by malicious actors. And these organizations are likely to face tight budgets and limited manpower to deal with a cyber threat. For many agencies, the reality is it’s a matter of when – not if – they will be attacked. There are steps that can be taken to be better prepared to cope with the arduous task of recovery, m...

Ransomware, malware, phishing, DDoS, social engineering, zero-day exploit, botnets – the list of types of attacks out there is long enough to keep even the most seasoned cybersecurity expert awake at night. And with the increased use of remote computing, the cyber attack surface grows as more edge devices are added to networks. Creating a zero trust environment holds a lot of promise to provide significantly improved cybersecurity. In th...

Machine learning and artificial intelligence already are playing a significant role in reworking call centers, in government agencies and private industry alike. Just picture the chatbots that show up every time you go to the online portal for the Department of Motor Vehicles, for instance, and get prompted to renew your auto registration online. To date, call center agents and customers both prefer human interaction. As generative AI (genAI)...

Government at all levels is moving as quickly as possible to integrate new solutions and overhaul processes that need streamlining. At the same time, officials are keeping close watch on AI and other emerging technologies, wary of the law of unintended consequences. For instance, in early September California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order directing state agencies to study the development, use and risks of generative artificial in...

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey found that almost half of federal employees worked remotely. By the end of 2022, the same survey found that 14% of employees were working remotely and another 25% were teleworking at least three days a week. The sudden exodus from government office buildings shone a bright light on the significant challenges it posed to security compliance operations – a challen...