Cybersecurity is always at the forefront of everyone's mind, especially in the industry of government technology. In 2021, we anticipated government technology trends and some of those trends have got traction already as we transition to 2022.
We know that remote work for public sector employees continues to remain an option, meaning accessing cloud systems and data and information from home. With this addition of remote work and accessing data from home, comes added risk and the potential for more vulnerabilities in cyber security.
At the end of 2021, the president released an executive order leaning towards the importance of cyber security on the federal level. “It is the policy of my Administration that the prevention, detection, assessment, and remediation of cyber incidents is a top priority and essential to national and economic security.”
The executive order goes on to cover more detailed methods to enact cyber-security in 2021.
Although, certain external factors have influenced the caution of government agencies and protecting the agencies against hacking. “As concerns continue to mount about a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Cyber Security & Infrastructure Agency (CISA) issued a ‘shields up’ warning on Friday night to U.S. companies.”
A recent article in Government Technology touches on the need for cybersecurity planning “Of course, we all hope to avoid the need to defend against a full-scale nation-state cyber attack — at any time. But the time to “hope for the best but prepare for the worst” is now. “
So now that we’ve covered why it might be a good idea to consider a robust cyber security plan, let’s discuss what the experts suggest for proper planning.
Excluded but not limited to:
- Make sure your software is up to date Updating software
- Make sure that all remote workers accessing the organization's network require multifactor authentication
- Make sure if you are using cloud sources, they are robust
- Antivirus and antimalware programs are enacted and updated
- Your organization has an assigned response team if a disaster occurs
- Test backup features to ensure quality and accuracy
Another good resource for government agencies to utilize while going through protective measures is the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency website. This organization has detailed information, tricks and tips, and learning resources for how to best protect your organization against cybersecurity attacks.
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