Not just businesses that should care about cybersecurity — local and county government bodies are also vulnerable. Here's why cybersecurity should matter to government agencies and five tips for how local and county-level government agencies can reduce the risk of data breaches.
There are two main reasons why local governments must care about cybersecurity.
Research shows that local governments are under daily — if not constant — attacks from cyber criminals. Security should, then, be a top priority for any public entity.
The best way to improve your cybersecurity is to hire an experienced IT provider that can design a security plan to suit your agency. However, in the meantime, here are five strategies you can adopt to bolster your IT security quickly.
An incident response plan sets out the procedures to follow and what tools to use if there's a data breach. Having a plan in place lets you respond to potential data breaches more quickly so you can mitigate the damage and rectify any weaknesses in your cybersecurity defenses.
"Zero trust" is a relatively new type of network design. Essentially, every individual gets verified before they're allowed to access your network — whether they're sitting in your office or working from a remote location.
Ways to use zero trust network design include:
We're seeing a 44% increase in insider threats in recent years, and 62% of insider incidents result from employee negligence. The answer to this problem? Promote a security culture among your personnel.
Regularly auditing your cybersecurity processes allows you to identify and repair potential weaknesses in your framework. They also help you reduce downtime by ensuring your systems are working optimally.
Consider performing security audits at least once every quarter or hire an IT provider to undertake this review on your behalf.
A virtual private network (VPN) forms a secure "funnel" between your device and the internet. It allows you to browse public WiFi networks safely by encrypting all information, including browser history and user data. If your staff ever work remotely, consider making sure they're using VPNs to shield sensitive government data from unauthorized access.
You can't rely on just one solution to properly protect your IT systems and sensitive data. Instead, you need a multi-layered, structured cybersecurity plan to shield your agency at every level.
At CTSI, we specialize in designing bespoke, comprehensive security plans for clients requiring the latest cybersecurity protection — contact us now to discover how we can help.