As cyberattacks against state and local governments rise, the state of Maryland has hosted a statewide cybersecurity tabletop exercise. The exercise was hosted by the Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM), in coordination with all cabinet-level agencies, and enabled critical partners to discuss plans, policies, and procedures in order to identify and address potential vulnerabilities or issues in preparation for a cybersecurity incident.

L.A. County Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Jeffery Aguilar said his office is preparing for upcoming high-profile activities – like the World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028 – by maturing its cybersecurity and building prevention techniques rather than taking the usual detection-based approach.

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Department of Education announced the 2022 recipients of the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award.

In a recent survey from MeriTalk and Invicti, 91 percent of 100 state and local government IT decision-makers said their organization’s pace of cybersecurity improvements increased over the past year. They have good reasons for accelerating change.

A new survey from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) finds that state chief information security officers (CISOs) have gained considerable strength and authority over the past few years.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has opened their annual, voluntary cybersecurity assessment for state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) entities across the nation and aims to provide a broad picture of the current cybersecurity gaps and capabilities.

The nation’s second largest school district is still recovering from a ransomware attack that took place over a month ago. In an Oct. 2 update, Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Superintendent Albert Carvalho said the syndicate group responsible for the cyberattack has leaked the stolen data.

Amid a tumultuous threat landscape, state and local government (SLG) IT leaders are warning that their organizations’ cybersecurity preparedness is putting citizen data at risk, according to new research from MeriTalk, underwritten by Invicti, Keeper, Recorded Future and ServiceNow.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is still taking steps to recover from a ransomware attack on its IT systems last week.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) called on all employees, students, and families to reset their passwords after a ransomware attack occurred on the school district’s information technology (IT) systems over Labor Day weekend, according to a September 6 news release.