From: The Washington Post/Capital Business
By Derek Johnson
Whether you work for the public sector or sell to it, chances are you’ve seen the growing concern over cybersecurity permeating federal, state and local governments.
A confluence of factors — evolving technologies, the rise of state-sponsored corporate espionage and a talent drain of valuable public-sector IT personnel — has created an environment in which state governments (and the valuable personal data they store about their citizens) are under constant threat from millions of cyberattacks and intrusion attempts every day.
In particular, the August 2012 hacking of the South Carolina Department of Revenue, in which hackers stole more than 40 million personal and financial records, set off a wave of panic among high-level IT officials and other state and local policymakers that resulted in a nationwide push to seriously address cyber deficiencies within IT infrastructures. Many states and localities announced major pushes over the next year to bolster their security capabilities.
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