How Vulnerable Is Critical Infrastructure to a Cyberattack?
On Thursday Oct. 22, 2020, the Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton warned attendees at The Age‘s National Security Summit that they must prepare to counter prolonged and catastrophic cyberattacks on critical infrastructure that could disrupt entire industries. The message to Australia and the world: “The potential consequences of a ... Read More
State CIOs Lead Digital Transformation During the Pandemic
As NASCIO concluded its annual conference virtually this past week, an extensive list of deliverables offered road maps for 2021 and beyond. Member profiles for all 50 states can be found at this interactive website, and an encouraging aspect to this year’s virtual event was the excellent level of participation ... Read More
Widespread Unemployment Fraud Is Overwhelming State Systems
Back on Sept. 17, 2020, NBC News proclaimed that “fraudsters steal millions from unemployment coffers, adding to pain of those still waiting for benefits.” Here’s how that story begins: Over $1 billion in unemployment aid is being threatened by fraud, in schemes ranging from lying about personal income to sophisticated ... Read More
DHS Works to Protect National Critical Infrastructure
Last month, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), published two important resources that deserve special attention. While many of these CISA status reports may seem a bit like “alphabet soup” to those not familiar with the process, the ... Read More
Could Estonia Be the Model for Secure Online Voting?
As we head into October 2020, everyone is talking about election security from various perspectives. Back in June, this blog explained how election security has become a top issue. Since that time, the focus and political posturing by governments, the media, cybersecurity pros and both political parties has only increased, ... Read More
Online Learning Still Struggles – Especially With Security
Back on Aug. 5, 2020, The Washington Post ran a story titled “America is about to start online learning, Round 2. For millions of students, it won’t be any better.” Here’s a quote from that article: “’I remember people speaking of the Fourth of July as if everything would be ... Read More
Why Are Some Cybersecurity Professionals Not Finding Jobs?
Last week, I posted a CNBC technology article on LinkedIn titled: ‘We are outnumbered’ — cybersecurity pros face a huge staffing shortage as attacks surge during the pandemic. The article starts with this video claiming that there is a tremendous shortage of about 4 million skilled workers needed for cyber ... Read More
Learning from the Best: James Collins, CIO of Delaware
When James Collins recently announced that he will be ending his public service career in Delaware government on Sept. 11, 2020, the stories, press releases and accolades started pouring in from around the country. Here are three of the articles covering the big announcement last week: Government Technology Magazine: James ... Read More
Learning From the Best: James Collins, CIO in Delaware
When James Collins recently announced that he will be ending his public service career in Delaware government on September 11, 2020, the stories, press releases and accolades started pouring in from around the country. Here are three of the articles covering the big announcement last week: Government Technology Magazine: James ... Read More
Ransomware During COVID-19
After 2019 was remembered as the year that ransomware targeted state and local governments, what can be said about ransomware in 2020 – especially during the global coronavirus pandemic? To start, ransomware made global news headlines this week when a major ransomware attack was thwarted against Tesla. The Associated Press ... Read More
