A team from the Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s Department of Community and Economic Development recently joined us in Silicon Valley at McAfee HQ to discuss information security. Overall, state governments are taking a more proactive stance as is relates to information security; this is a welcome and much needed trend.
One of topics we discussed was enhancing security awareness in K-12 education. There is a need at all grade levels for students, parents, educators, and supporting staff to be more familiar with the various cyber threats and countermeasures as well as resources such as McAfee’s Online Cyber Security Resource Portal. From online predators and malicious software to smartphones and laptops, information security is an essential element of K-12 education, and more and more states are making it a priority.
Another topic of critical importance to federal and state governments alike is the protection of critical infrastructure. The electric grid, oil and gas, chemical, and mining are all examples of areas in which state governments are taking a more active role. Multiple zones within critical infrastructure require protection including IT, SCADA, and ICS or industrial control systems. McAfee has many customers in this area, and has several purpose-built solutions such as those outlined here. The interest from state governments in critical infrastructure is rapidly expanding, and because so many experts agree that this is a primary concern for our country as a whole, an open dialog regarding threats and solutions at a state level is relevant and timely.
It’s great to see such an increase from state governments in information security, and it was a pleasure to meet with the Pennsylvania team.
Tags: critical infrastructure, Public Sector, security awareness
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