We all understand physical security threats: Municipal buildings have locked doors to provide physical security during closed hours. Technology is a new front door, allowing criminals to access and exploit valuable community resources. It is estimated that a new organization falls victim to ransomware every 14 seconds and local governments are ideal targets. The citizen and business information they collect, along with recent lucrative payouts of hundreds of thousands of dollars by some cities, draw the attention of cyber criminals.  All areas of government — finance, public safety, and education — can be impacted.   

Fortunately, there are some protective measures you can put in place now to establish an initial defensive foundation and steadily build upon to safeguard against cyber-attacks.

Municipal Cybersecurity Toolkit

For National Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2019, the Cyber Resilient Massachusetts Municipality Sub-working Group has developed a toolkit to help municipal leaders begin to understand the cybersecurity posture of their municipality and figure out next steps for protecting municipal infrastructure against cyber threats.

The intent is to provide guidance and action steps necessary to get the conversation started around cybersecurity preparedness and ultimately protect municipal infrastructure against cyber threats before they occur.