Cybersecurity budgets in local governments deemed lacking

Almost two-thirds of city and county officials noted having inadequate cybersecurity budgets even though 55% had increased spending this year, compared with 7% who noted reduced cybersecurity allocations, StateScoop reports. Meanwhile, only 23% reported being "very engaged" in the cybersecurity initiatives of their organizations, according to the Public Technology Institute's Local Government Cybersecurity National Survey. Cybersecurity strategy has been cited by officials as their leading priority for the following year. Other major cybersecurity priorities included risk evaluations, malware detection and mitigation, multifactor authentication, zero trust architecture, and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, officials noted increasingly advanced cyber threats to be the main cybersecurity challenge, followed by workforce shortfall, legacy solutions, and decentralized infrastructure and operations. Such findings were noted by PTI Executive Director Alan Shark to be indicative of the organization-wide focus on cybersecurity. "Many organizations are implementing programs that promote cross-training, internships, and other opportunities to improve the capabilities of our cyber workforce," said Shark.