State and local governments – facing technology skills gaps and difficulties hiring and retaining talent – can be especially vulnerable to cyber threats. Increasingly complex network infrastructures add new cybersecurity challenges. In a recent interview with MeriTalk, Mike Lauer, national director of public sector at Fortinet and former chief technology architect for the state of Iowa, discusses how platform approaches coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) can give state and local governments the boost they need against threat actors.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC), has released updated SAFECOM Guidance on Emergency Communications Grants (SAFECOM Guidance), which is focused on assisting state and local governments in accessing funding for emergency communications.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs to do more to help state, local, and Tribal authorities use technology resources necessary to investigate unauthorized aerial drone activity, according to a June 6 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
Cyberattacks against state and local governments can interrupt critical infrastructure, leak sensitive information, and cause significant financial damage. Agencies are using more security tools to thwart increasingly sophisticated attacks, but this has led to a level of complexity that overburdens security teams. MeriTalk recently sat down with Kenny Holmes, cybersecurity senior leader for government and education at Cisco, to discuss how integrated, automated solutions can help analysts quickly detect, prioritize, and remediate threats.
Security analysts in the education sector must contend with evolving cybersecurity threats despite limited resources. MeriTalk recently sat down with Helen Patton, cybersecurity executive advisor for education at Cisco, to discuss how an open, collaborative approach to threat detection and response can help streamline processes for overburdened security teams.
IT service management teams in state and local government agencies are experiencing increased demands in rapidly changing environments that are growing more complex. MeriTalk recently sat down with Andrew Graf, chief product officer at TeamDynamix, to discuss the trends that have the greatest potential to overcome these IT service management challenges in 2024.
State and local governments are working through digital modernization roadmaps and turning to technology to improve the user experience. But with IT team resource constraints, budget issues, and ever-changing technology, working through modernization roadmaps while keeping the business of government running smoothly can be a challenge.
Delaware CIO Greg Lane brought his 30-plus year career at DuPont and its chemical business to Dover when Gov. John Carney appointed him as new state CIO and director of the Department of Technology and Information (DTI) last June.
Amaya Capellán was appointed new state CIO and deputy secretary for the Office of Information Technology (OIT) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the end of July 2023. The former vice president at Comcast, the telecommunications and media conglomerate, understands her charter – digital transformation. As described by her immediate boss, Secretary of Administration, Neil Weaver, Capellán’s extensive experience in the private-sector will do her well in her new position.
In this era of new government-wide digital transformation and legacy systems modernization, Louisiana CIO Dickie Howze is an old hand. More than half a decade ago, his Office of Technology Services (OTS) was responsible for an enterprise digital transformation plan for its citizen services.
