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A significant portion of state and local government technology officials in a new survey say they are under-equipped, under-staffed and under-resourced in addressing cybersecurity concerns.
Four in 10 state and local IT leaders say they lack the tools they need to identify and report cybersecurity vulnerabilities in their networks, according to a study conducted by CyberScoop and StateScoop, and underwritten by Tenable.
For 38 percent of respondents, this shortcoming is further exacerbated by the need for security intelligence tools that prioritize vulnerability risks. Combined, these technology gaps make it harder for security personnel to optimize their time and effectiveness. Nearly half of respondents (46 percent) said that access to more skilled and knowledgeable information security professionals would improve the ability to spot security vulnerabilities — more than any other potential enabler.
Officials also said a lack of understanding about technologies and risks, and difficulty understanding security metrics, are the biggest challenges they face in communicating security risks to top government leaders and elected officials.
Despite these challenges, researchers are optimistic.
“The study’s findings suggest that state and local government agencies aren’t as far behind their industry counterparts in cybersecurity preparedness as is often thought,” said Wyatt Kash, who heads content strategy for Scoop News Group.
In fact, state and local government officials “are more confident in their ability to secure operational technology and IoT systems than their industry counterparts,” Kash said, based on a parallel survey conducted with industry executives.
He attributed that confidence to the long-standing role state and local agencies have had operating such networks. But there are improvements to be made and complications that must be overcome.
While a majority of state and local government officials polled reported having at least some visibility into the security of their IT systems, that visibility varied by the type of networks they had to protect — and there remains a clear need for fuller visibility.
Read more: Improving cybersecurity visibility and state and local government agencies
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