Cybersecurity
What leaders get wrong about cloud security
COMMENTARY | Local governments are adopting cloud-based ERP systems to modernize finance operations, but cloud migration alone doesn’t eliminate security and compliance risks.
‘I don’t trust you’: Tensions reach boiling point on election security call for state leaders hosted by Trump administration
Democratic election officials criticized Homeland Security leaders for lackluster support as the midterm election looms.
Former California CISO reflects on cyber’s importance in state government
Now a senior advisor at World Wide Technology, Vitaliy Panych said his aim was always to make everyone a “risk practitioner,” while managing an enormous state infrastructure.
The great AI escape(s): Now what?
COMMENTARY | Trust in agentic AI cannot be based on faith in vendors’ marketing. Leaders must engineer, require and verify that trust exists when they purchase a product.
Voting machine researchers say federal work abruptly ended after Trump ally pushed back on their findings
Mojave Research executives said at DEF CON that the government had been preparing to expand the company’s election security work, and linked Trump adviser Kurt Olsen to pressure they faced after finding election system vulnerabilities but no evidence votes were altered.
New ‘Water Watch Center’ launched to help small utilities stop cyberattacks
The initiative comes as multiple states grapple with intrusions into their water systems that some officials suspect could be tied to Iran.
More US water systems struck by hackers
The FBI said systems in at least seven states have been hit, following an Iran-linked group’s hack in Minnesota. Experts urged operators to beef up operational technology cybersecurity.
State AGs call for transparency from OpenAI after unprecedented Hugging Face hack
More than a dozen attorneys general are demanding answers from OpenAI after a cyber intrusion.
Smart phones render Nevada privacy law vague and outdated, says attorney
“The burden has now become placed on us as humans. If we want to have a private conversation, we really need to take extra steps to have that private conversation,” an attorney said while arguing a case involving the statute.
CISA urges water utilities to take exposed systems down after Minnesota hacks
A memo distributed to water industry members and obtained by Nextgov/FCW makes mention of Iran but does not directly present evidence attributing the latest Minnesota incident to the country.
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Why large events require smarter, long-term security investments
COMMENTARY | The just-concluded World Cup and upcoming Olympics highlight the need to plan beyond the stadium or venue and support public safety years after fans go home.
Inside the World Cup security operation
A massive effort years in the planning at the federal, state and local level helped keep the tournament safe, even as it faced enormous threats of many kinds that all needed mitigating.
FCC blocks approval of new foreign-made robots, power inverters
National security agencies said the devices could create supply-chain vulnerabilities, threaten critical infrastructure and enable surveillance or remote manipulation.
Russian hackers can steal government emails without victims clicking a link, cyber agencies warn
The Russia-linked Laundry Bear group has compromised more than 10 Western organizations through malicious emails that can trigger an exploit when they are viewed or previewed.
AI, once relegated to helping hackers with certain tasks, can now power every stage of a cyberattack
Researchers determined that AI was used in steps across entire cyber operations to identify security flaws, generate commands and carry out parts of intrusions, sometimes with little human oversight. Both U.S. and Chinese AI models have been involved.
A Puerto Rico government agency exposed 1M Social Security numbers
A cybersecurity loophole in an official government mapping service left private data easily accessible, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo and ProPublica learned.
Government groups call for $300M to fund cyber grant program
Various state and local organizations urged the Senate in an open letter to appropriate the money for Fiscal Year 2027 to the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program.
Texas investigates 2 major data breaches
Around 3 million hunting and fishing license customers in the state had their data exposed, according to a recent notification, while another 800,000 cruise line customers had their data breached.
Inside Indiana’s cybersecurity education expansion
The initiative is the first in the nation to also strive to connect students with military service, in addition to careers and higher education.
US officials see Iran cyber threat persisting despite preliminary deal
Officials’ views reflect a recurring concern that cyber operations would continue regardless of conflict status, even as the Trump administration pursues a diplomatic off-ramp with Tehran.
