CYBER SECURITY IS THE SECOND BIGGEST RISK FACING LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The outbreak of Covid-19 in Australia has seen most organisations comply with social distancing restrictions, introducing ‘working from home’ rules for the majority or all of their staff.
There are advantages of working from home for both employees, and for lower overall organisation costs, however, the increasing risks of security breaches and Cyber Crime cannot be ignored.
So, what would happen if your council were to come under attack?
1. Do you have enough resources to manage cyber risks?
2. Could your existing IT systems be more susceptible to attacks?
3. What would happen to all the personal data being held?
4. What happens if your ratepayers’ payments are hijacked by scammers?
Local Councils have been targeted in numerous cyber scams. More recently this year, a Council in Adelaide’s South was targeted with ransomware and disabling of a number of their systems. This resulted in loss of trust with the local community and significant damage to their reputation.
No organisation, whether Government or private enterprise, can be totally immune to cyber risk.
This is why it is so important for local councils to address all aspects of cyber risk and build a risk management framework for peace of mind. A robust framework should include staff education and training, third party supplier assessments, incident response planning, review of IT security and controls, identification of critical infrastructure, and information security
policies and procedures.
What is the biggest risk facing local governments? Financial Stability
Cyber crime can have a devastating impact on any organisation. Whether it happens in the form or a ransomware attack or social engineering fraud, the amounts involved can be substantial. The good news is that with a cyber risk management system, these threats can be minimised.
Contact CyberWorqs today to find out how we can help your local council with implementing a cyber risk management system with the Cyber Steps Program.
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