The Healey-Driscoll Administration has set the ball rolling to shield Massachusetts from the digital onslaught of cyber threats, announcing a hefty cybersecurity training sweep for municipal employees. According to a recent press release, the 2024 Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program will bolster the cyber savvy of a heavy league of 78,000 public workers across 227 municipalities and school districts.
This cybersafety net, rolled out by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS), aims not just to educate but to drill employees through a gauntlet of online training, assessments, and mock cyber threats, with the goal to sniff out and snub out real-life cyber-attacks this program will hand out licenses for several layers of security training which includes an initial cyber strength assessment and periodic drills consisting of training modules and phishing simulations to better guard government data banks, Massachusetts municipalities are set to dial up their defense lines, at no cost to the cities or the people in its ranks.
Gov. Maura Healey heralded the movement toward heightened cyber vigilance, "Our administration is committed to partnering with our municipalities to move forward on our shared IT and cybersecurity goals,” she was quoted as saying in the press statement. Lt. Gov. Kimberley Driscoll echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the need to understand cybersecurity as a universal responsibility—past the boundaries of IT job descriptions.
Heartened by his interactions across the state, Commonwealth Chief Information Officer Jason Snyder sees cybersecurity topping the priority chart in municipal conversations, he told the press “In every discussion, cybersecurity comes up as a top priority,” the commitment to create a united cybersecurity front is evidenced not only in this training gamut but also in the myriad other initiatives up Healey-Driscoll Administration's sleeve; these include a Free Cybersecurity Health Check Program, the Community Compact IT Grant Program, and the Community Compact Municipal Fiber Grant Program all fodder for the ongoing cyber warfare.
The state's commitment is further underscored by the free access to the training program for municipal organizations, supplemented with updates from EOTSS through quarterly threat briefings, and weekly newsletters packed with cybersecurity best practices and the latest threat intelligence. To keep a sharp eye on potential weak links, IT officials within municipalities are slated to receive monthly reports highlighting the number of employees who take the bait of fake phishing attempts—these metrics serve as stark reminders of the persistent vigilance demanded in the digital age.
To dive deeper into the specifics of the Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program and to check out the EOTSS’s full roster of cybersecurity and IT programs for municipalities, interested parties can venture over to the Massachusetts government website for more detailed information.
