Cybersecurity

Two recent cyberattacks on water systems highlight vulnerability of critical infrastructure

Pro-Iran hackers allegedly hit a system near Pittsburgh, causing it to replace its Israeli-made equipment as a precaution. Meanwhile, another group hit a system in North Texas and caused operational issues.

  • By Chris Teale

Funding for local cybersecurity efforts is insufficient, survey says

Local government IT executives are reluctant to even ask elected officials for more, according to the group behind the survey, knowing requests will likely be rejected.

  • By Chris Teale

Introducing the 2023 Rising Stars

Route Fifty is proud to participate in the Rising Star Awards, a program that recognizes innovative, early-career individuals who are already having an outsized impact in the government IT community.

  • By Elizabeth Daigneau

These federal grants could help shore up your cyberdefences

A report from the Government Accountability Office identified 27 grants not “intended to primarily support cybersecurity activities” that state and local governments could tap for critical funding—if they have grant writing expertise.

  • By Kery Murakami

FCC wants to improve cyber protections for schools, libraries

Faced with a growing number of cyberattacks on school districts nationwide, the agency announced a three-year pilot program to gather data on the best cyberdefenses.

  • By Chris Teale

Misinformation, cybersecurity among top issues ahead of 2024 elections

State and local officials face a new threat from the proliferation of deepfakes and misinformation, driven by artificial intelligence.

  • By Chris Teale

States, localities should transition to the .gov domain ‘hard stop,’ federal official says

The cybersecurity official noted the benefits of using the free domain at a recent event, following the release of a report warning of escalating cybersecurity threats.

  • By Chris Teale

The cyber workforce gap is growing

Despite a significant increase in the number of people entering the cyber field in 2023, demand is still far outpacing that supply.

  • By Natalie Alms

‘No middle ground’: State, local collaboration essential to cyber defense

New York’s whole-of-state approach to cybersecurity promotes cooperating with local governments to face down threats and build a skilled workforce pipeline.

  • By Chris Teale

State CIOs look ahead to a collaborative, automated future

A survey of state technology leaders found that the CIO role has evolved from one concerned with building a state’s own tech infrastructure to one focused on acting as a broker of services. The change comes amid increasing automation, use of AI and cybersecurity challenges.

  • By Chris Teale

A potential federal shutdown is yet another thing for election officials to worry about

Chaos in Congress could leave local election officials without the resources they need for 2024.

  • By Carrie Levine, Votebeat

GOP states announce new voter roll systems. Are they as secure as ERIC?

An expert in elections administration and one of the founders of ERIC says the new systems could suffer from low data quality, high costs and inadequate security.

  • By Daniel C. Vock
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Feds plan new 'secure-by-design' guidance

The nation’s cyber defense agency is continuing to drive a major effort to shift security responsibilities from users to software providers.

  • By Chris Riotta

As cyberattacks grow, cyber insurance is increasingly out of reach for many municipalities

Experts caution that governments need to recalibrate their cyber risk management approaches by emphasizing employee training and taking a whole-of-state approach.

  • By Liz Farmer

States ramp up software security standards amid growing threats

Collaboration among states to tighten the security of cloud software is increasing under the nationwide program StateRAMP. Meanwhile, Texas is embracing its own certification effort after several high-profile cyber incidents.

  • By Chris Teale

Feds prioritizing on-site K-12 cybersecurity reviews this school year

The nation’s cyber defense agency is aiming to work with schools “where they’re at instead of where they should be.” 

  • By Chris Riotta

The fallout from the MOVEit hack continues as more agencies announce breaches

A Colorado health department said recently more than 4 million patients’ data had been accessed. But the real challenge awaits state and local governments as they look to patch vulnerabilities before more criminals exploit them.

  • By Chris Teale

Cyber grant program gets a big funding boost

Nearly $375 million, or double the amount of money as last year, has been allocated to a federal initiative looking to help state and local governments address cybersecurity risks.

  • By Chris Teale

Fighting election denial one community at a time

With the presidential election more than a year away, one former state senator is traveling across Wisconsin to prepare local election officials for skeptical voters by educating them on election processes and technologies.

  • By Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner

An underused approach to fighting cyberattacks

The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center offers free services to help localities with cybersecurity. Why aren’t more governments using them?

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

Why computer security guidelines are so unclear

COMMENTARY | Cybersecurity guidelines are often riddled with excessive or confusing information, spurring a need for clearer instructions from trustworthy sources to better mitigate system vulnerabilities.

  • By Matt Shipman, Futurity