Washington CIO Michael Cockrill is moving to the private sector later this month. After being appointed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in 2013, Cockrill oversaw the creation of Washington Technology Solutions, the agency created in 2015 to centralize state IT and improve services for the people of Washington through technology. Cockrill spoke with MeriTalk State and Local about his time as CIO and the jump to rejoin the private sector.
A hacker grouped named Dragonfly 2.0 has gained access to several companies that supply electricity to the U.S. power grid, according to Symantec. The new wave of cyberattacks could give attackers the means to severely disrupt affected operations centers in Europe and North America. Dragonfly 2.0 has been in operation since at least 2011 and is linked to the Russian government.
Research published by SecurityScorecard found that though Federal and state governments have improved their cybersecurity since the rating system’s last report, they still fall behind the rankings of most industries in the U.S.
A Barracuda report released Aug. 30 said that bad actors are using spear-phishing, account compromise, and insider impersonation to target Office 365 users.
The United States needs to invest more resources in the security of election systems, Cook County (Ill.) Director of Elections Noah Praetz told the Election Assistance Commission.
Baltimore’s new Cyber Range is hoping to tackle the 200,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in this country with cutting-edge, hands-on training. Earlier this month, Baltimore Cyber Range and Cyberbit, a provider of cybersecurity training and simulation platforms, opened the Baltimore Cyber Range cybersecurity training and simulation center.
The designation of the nation’s election systems as critical infrastructure will not infringe upon state and local authority to run elections. In a recent memo to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Members, Ranking Member Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., relayed communications from the Department of Homeland Security that reiterated that fact.
Data is key for Indiana CIO Dewand Neely. His team is focused on helping the Indiana state government incorporate data into its decision-making. From helping to establish a metrics-driven agency to focusing on citizen feedback to determine projects, Neely believes data can help the government make better decisions across the board.
Many states and localities don’t have the resources to upgrade and protect their election systems from malicious cyber intrusion, and the Federal government should work to provide them with those resources, according to a recent Brennan Center report on election cybersecurity.
