BOSTON — The RSA Conference 2020 kicks off in San Francisco on Monday, February 24th, and Massachusetts will be well represented at the conference, which brings together approximately 45,000 attendees and over 700 vendors from around the world.
As part of this year’s conference, MassCyberCenter Director Stephanie Helm will participate in the RSA Public Sector Day at RSAC 2020, appearing with other state and local leaders from around the country. Helm’s panel will focus on “Cyber Security as a Public Service,” where she will highlight how the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is helping cities and towns stay ‘cyber resilient’ against emerging digital threats.
By: Thomas F. Duffy, MS-ISAC Chair
Cyber threat actors (CTA) leverage interest during public health threats and other high-profile events in order to conduct financial fraud and disseminate malware. We expect that this trend will continue with the emergence of new and recycled scams involving financial fraud and malware related to the coronavirus outbreak.
Crippling cyber attacks on major cities have made recent headlines, but smaller towns, like those across the Cape and Islands, are not immune.
Governor Baker has announced a quarter-million dollars in grants to train municipal employees in cyber security, in an effort to prevent computer breaches.
Some local towns are benefiting from those grants.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released an announcement warning users to remain vigilant for malicious cyber activity targeting Hurricane Dorian disaster victims and potential donors.
WASHINGTON – July 29, 2019 – The recent ransomware attacks targeting systems across the country are the latest in a string of attacks affecting State and local government partners. The growing number of such attacks highlights the critical importance of making cyber preparedness a priority and taking the necessary steps to secure our networks against adversaries. Prevention is the most effective defense against ransomware.
BOSTON – Governor Charlie Baker addressed the 2018 Massachusetts Cybersecurity Forum and announced new leadership for the MassCyberCenter, awards totaling $385,000 to support cyber workforce development, and a new public-private effort called ‘Cyber Resilient Massachusetts.’ The Forum convened over 200 top cybersecurity leaders from state government, the private sector and the state’s top research institutions.
Governor Baker welcomed U.S. Navy Captain Stephanie A. Helm as the first director of the MassCyberCenter at the Mass Tech Collaborative, a state effort initiated by Governor Baker to strengthen the Commonwealth’s cybersecurity ecosystem and to improve cyber-resiliency in the state. The Administration also announced the names of 19 executives that will make up the Cybersecurity Strategy Council.
CAMBRIDGE – Today, at the state’s first-ever Cybersecurity Forum, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced the creation of the “Cybersecurity Growth and Development Center at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative” - a new public center that will aim to connect the cybersecurity ecosystem and train new cybersecurity workers across the Commonwealth. To advise and steer the center, MassTech will convene a Cybersecurity Strategy Council made up of leaders from both the private and public sector.
