Local government employees are the first line of defense against the cyberattacks that could compromise citizens’ data. All they need is an hour of training, according to Middletown Director of Information Services Bryan Skowera.
Skowera joined leaders from the company Digital BackOffice on the “Municipal Voice, “a co-production of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and WNHH, to talk about how municipalities keep information safe.
“By replacing typewriters, phones and file cabinets with massive pieces of electronics, we’ve made it easier to access for the public — and for those who aim to do us harm,” Skowera said.
While computer technology has now been around for a while, it’s never been in quite so many places. From phones to servers to laptops, each piece of equipment is part of a larger ecology of technology and a larger surface to protect from attacks.
Despite this technological evolution, some of the central strategies of cyberattacks remain the same.
Phishing, or “social engineering” attacks, do not require a computer. A caller posing as a neighbor in need of a few gift cards is one example.
Tech departments have to train employees to recognize email versions of these kinds of attacks. They often come in the guise of a trusted source – a boss asking the email recipient to do a quick task, or an email provider asking for their password. Employees simply need to learn to distinguish between truth and lies, which should only take about an hour of training, Skowera said.
Beyond personnel, there are many layers of protection available to towns and cities. Middletown, for instance, has next-generation endpoint protection. This is like a bouncer at a club. It both checks everything on its way in and goes into the club with the software or file to make sure it’s behaving itself. And not everyone is allowed in the same club.
These layers are even more important now that those behind ransomware attacks encrypt a town or city’s data at the same time that they threaten to release it. This extends the extortion beyond a single ransom payment.
Despite the danger of this virtual world, Skowera believes that every local government service should be offered online.
Since town meetings have moved online, Skowera has seen Middletown residents become more engaged in town business. The public also benefits from being able to pay taxes and look at data online.
“Technology is so empowering in that respect,” Skowera says, “How do we protect it? That’s a great question. We have to trust our partners. You have to do your due diligence.”
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