The Feds are Stepping Up to Protect Local Governments. Are you ready?

In the January 20, 2022 issue of “Be Cyber Safe”, we talked about the Infrastructure Bill signed into law by President Biden in 2021, which created the $1 billion State and Local Cyber Security Grant Program. The federal government is providing this grant funding to help local communities improve their cyber security. These funds will be made available in FY 2022 through FY 2025.
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CYBER NEWS
White House Warns of Potential Russian Cyberattack Based on New Intel
White House Warns of Potential Russian Cyberattack Based on New Intel
Officials, distressed by the continued lack of cybersecurity basics implemented in the private sector, issued “a call to action.”
www.nextgov.com • Share
Officials: FBI alerted of cyberattack that ‘compromised’ East Windsor’s systems
Officials: FBI alerted of cyberattack that ‘compromised’ East Windsor’s systems
EAST WINDSOR – Cyberhackers breached the municipal township’s servers, possibly compromising sensitive personal information stored on the network, officials acknowledged Monday. Township manager Ji…
www.trentonian.com • Share
Anonymous hacked Nestlè and leaked 10 GB of Data
Anonymous hacked Nestlè and leaked 10 GB of Data
The popular Anonymous hacktivist collective announced to have hacked Nestlè and leaked 10 GB of sensitive data
securityaffairs.co • Share
Fake Esports voting sites looking to phish Steam users
Fake Esports voting sites looking to phish Steam users
We take a look at a popular Steam phish tactic involving fake Esports voting sites which refuses to go away.
blog.malwarebytes.com • Share
TIP OF THE WEEK
Turn Your Biggest Threat into Your Biggest Asset
We hear it over and over that your employees are your biggest threat when it comes to security. Most of the time it’s simply human error and not at all malicious activity. This is why Cyber Security Awareness Training is so important.
Make the training specific to your organization’s needs and your risk areas. Generic training may work for a high level overview of security but if your company has a higher threat from phishing attacks, then focus on that.
Use actual events as examples of the types of cyber incidents they may encounter. The idea that “it won’t happen here” is dangerous. Make your employees understand that it can and likely already has happened here. If they realize that their clicking on a phishing link can be the one mistake to initiate a breach, they may pay closer attention.
Make the message direct and easy to understand. While it may be tempting to make it funny to keep their attention, that may dilute the message you are trying to convey. Also, do not make it too long so that you lose their attention. Shorter and more frequent training messages are more effective than longer, boring training once a year.
Help them understand that they are part of the solution. Explain the reason for the specific security tools so they understand that it is for the protection of the company and not to try to trap them and punish them.
Emphasize that everyone makes mistakes and they should learn from their mistakes. Do not punish them for mistakes. Similarly, if they pass security tests, reward them.
CYBER HUMOR