Government Cybersecurity: Strategies and Insurance for Ransomware Protection

Government Cybersecurity: Strategies and Insurance for Ransomware Protection

Governments are among the main targets for ransomware, along with the healthcare sector. Because governments are required to deliver public services and cannot afford to have their data seized to the extent of paralysing governance, ransomware is an especially potent weapon against them. The price of a school system failing to educate the children of the community or a police force failing to protect and serve them rises swiftly. The government therefore frequently views paying the ransoms as the only sensible course of action. After all, the cost of recovering lost data and systems and refusing to pay the ransom can frequently exceed that of the ransom.

By 2031, it’s expected that organizations will experience ransomware attacks every two seconds. There will be an 8–10% increase in ransom payment requests in 2023, as they continue to rise. 80% of enterprises that paid the ransom have been targeted again.

Why governments are extra vulnerable

Governments can be vulnerable in addition to being an attractive target for a number of reasons, including:

• Extended the zone of attack: A network or system vulnerability, or “exploit,” that allows access, encryption that prevents access to the data and necessitates the payment of a ransom, and a means of payment to collect the ransom are the three main components of a successful ransomware assault. Exploits are frequently responsible for the emergence of fresh waves of ransomware attacks, since bitcoin and its strong algorithms provide simple, readily available options for both payment and encryption.

More services than ever before are being offered by governments to their constituents via digital channels. In fact, there are now a lot more computers in use by government agencies overall. A few decades ago, local police departments and school districts might have had a few computers in their central offices, but now days, almost every squad car has a computer, and every classroom probably has a few as well. Because harmful malware might potentially infiltrate any of these machines, the prospect of an attack surface that a government agency has to defend has increased dramatically in the absence of matching cybersecurity measures.

It’s unlikely that this tendency will halt either. A vast and ever-expanding range of endpoints, including parking metres, ambulances, trash trucks, and libraries, are linked to state and local government networks. These endpoints are all potentially vulnerable to attack, which increases the attack surface.

• Obsolete technology and unreliable safety: While the introduction of new technology might present challenges for governments, the absence of new technology can also do so. Many governments find it difficult to keep up with the quick cycles of technological refreshment.

The amount of modernization that may occur is limited by tight finances, and even in cases where funding is available, government IT departments may experience stress from the tech refresh process itself. State and local government network operations teams seldom have the luxury of pulling portions of their networks offline for technology updates without experiencing a loss of functionality, unlike private sector networks that are frequently built with adequate redundancy. Modernizing a system is a difficult trade-off for government officials because taking it offline to replace or upgrade it typically results in some services being unavailable to citizens.

Even the most highly qualified and staffed cybersecurity staff may find it challenging to manage security updates and configurations on even modern, updated networks. Maintaining outdated legacy systems can be a difficult task for state and municipal governments that use them.

The fundamental cybersecurity education and training that all public servants, employees, contractors, and elected officials who have access to government networks should get is just as critical as ongoing machine maintenance. A network can be compromised with only one click, so everyone connected to it has to know the fundamentals of network security. However, frequent cybersecurity training is time- and money-consuming, and this may seem like an almost unachievable request for local governments with limited resources and people. The world’s most sophisticated cybersecurity systems are unable to compensate for undertrained labourers.

• The price of undersized existence: But humans, not technology, typically represent the biggest obstacle. Without skilled workers, neither new systems nor patches for existing ones can be implemented. For many governments, recruiting and retaining the proper number of skilled technology employees—particularly cybersecurity personnel—is likely the biggest obstacle.

In the US, high-paying, in-demand cybersecurity positions in a few chosen cities draw talented candidates. As a result, compared to a comparable-sized financial organization in the private sector (more than 100), the majority of state-level IT security organizations have significantly fewer cyber specialists on staff (6–15 per organization).The issue is made worse by the fact that, on average, less than 15% of IT personnel are involved in cybersecurity. For the most part, local governments are left with just one cybersecurity specialist, and even then, they frequently have to divide their time between cybersecurity and other IT responsibilities. It will never be fair for a part-time cybersecurity effort to battle full-time, professional attackers.

Cybersecurity strategies for government agencies:

A strong cybersecurity risk management strategy is essential to assisting your organization in lowering its vulnerability to attacks. The secret is to keep evaluating, improving, and testing your defence tactics. There are four defining elements that can act as the backbone for your mitigation strategies, even as threats change.

1. Give top attention to cybersecurity
   • At a federal agency, managing cyber risk ought to be a top focus. A breach might have severe repercussions in terms of resource demands as well as national security and electoral integrity issues. It is recommended that leaders arrange for the relevant parties to execute a comprehensive programme for managing cyber risk.
2. Protect the most vulnerable area
   • When an employee uses a computer or mobile device that is connected to the company network, they are frequently the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain. Conduct exercises with employees on a regular basis to keep them informed about cyberthreats and appropriate responses.
   • Employees will be more diligent if they are tested more frequently and receive more in-depth training. The Kentucky State Treasury team was able to swiftly foil a $5.3 million business email hack plan thanks to staff fraud awareness training.
3. Establish a cyber-readiness culture
   • An instrument to assist organisations in assessing and enhancing their cybersecurity initiatives is the Cybersecurity Capability Model (C2M2).
   • The National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) is a crucial tool in this endeavour. The CSF and its companion self-assessment toolkit assist organisations in establishing goals, determining priorities, putting risk management strategies into practice, tracking progress, and making necessary adjustments. Governmental organisations can help raise their degree of preparedness to address the present danger scenario by employing this strategy.
4. Engage specialists from outside
   • Governmental organisations may not always have the internal resources or funding available to adequately implement cybersecurity strategies, especially at the state and local levels. Adding outside partners to your operations can help you achieve greater security capabilities. In the event of a breach, third parties may:
   • Assist in performing assessments of capability, risk, vulnerability, and effect
   • Check networks for vulnerabilities and take appropriate action
   • Create a plan by utilising your industry knowledge.
   • Provide thorough, continuing education and awareness campaigns.

Governmental organisations may not always have the internal resources or funding available to adequately implement cybersecurity strategies, especially at the state and local levels. Adding outside partners to your operations can help you achieve greater security capabilities. In the event of a breach, third parties may:

• Assist in performing assessments of capability, risk, vulnerability, and effect
• Check networks for vulnerabilities and take appropriate action
• Create a plan by utilising your industry knowledge.
• Provide thorough, continuing education and awareness campaigns.

Governments must develop robust cybersecurity strategies to protect against ransomware attacks. This involves implementing advanced security measures such as network segmentation, strong access controls, regular software updates, and employee training on identifying and mitigating potential threats. Additionally, investing in advanced threat detection and response capabilities is crucial for the early detection and containment of ransomware attacks.

Protecting government systems against ransomware

The following are some steps the government can take to strengthen cybersecurity and battle against ransomware attacks:

1. Start utilising technology based on clouds.
   • In addition to being costly to maintain, on-site servers are thought to be among the easiest for hackers to access. Thousands of towns still use them, nevertheless, to keep private data. Moving from this outdated technology to cloud-based government management software with federal subsidies will cut costs and make it much harder for hackers to get in. Since cloud-based software eliminates the need for on-site servers, data, such as permits, are automatically saved by government management software and are only accessed by those with permission.
2. Create an IT Disaster Recovery Plan for the Government
   • To safeguard its computer systems and data in the event of a cyberattack or other unforeseen disruption, every local government should have a well-thought-out government IT disaster recovery strategy in place. To reduce damage and expedite recovery, the plan should specify steps to take before, during, and following a ransomware or malware attack: A disaster recovery strategy for government IT should consist of the following steps:
     • locating potentially compromised vital systems or data
     • evaluating potential threats that can expose your systems to vulnerabilities
     • Encouraging all government workers to comply by putting preventive measures into place
     • Developing procedures for government information backup and restoration, such as using the government cloud
3. Obtain a.gov domain preference.
   • A.gov URL is significantly more secure than a.org or.com domain, which is used by far too many local governments to host their websites.
   • According to a recent announcement from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), governments will not be required to pay a $400 registration fee in order to obtain a.gov domain for the current fiscal year. All users who register with a.gov domain automatically receive two-factor authentication and continuous vulnerability monitoring, giving you the chance to significantly improve website security for nothing!
4. Secure Critical Data Using Encryption
   • The process of converting data into code so that only those with a password or access code can view important text, documents, or records is known as data encryption.
   • One of the most effective methods of US government cybersecurity is data encryption, which prevents thieves from accessing the data on a stolen government laptop, smartphone, or USB.
   • All information on the GovPilot platform is encrypted. See the government software security overview for additional information
5. Encourage Every Employee to Use a Secure Password
   • Unfortunately, some people still use “password” as their password. Inform your government employees that complex and challenging-to-guess passwords are required to safeguard your valuable data and network. For added security and difficulty in guessing, some cyber security experts even suggest including spaces in “pass phrases.”
   • Additionally, you should advise staff members to update their passwords at least once a month or so and to take care not to write down or leave their passwords in plain sight.
6. Employee Education on Phishing Email Identification and Cybersecurity Hygiene
   • Many recent ransomware attacks originate from phishing emails, which are emails that appear authentic but contain a malicious link that, when clicked, infects the unwary user’s machine and the network it is linked to with a virus. Employees may learn to recognise phishing emails and steer clear of opening dubious emails or clicking on potentially dangerous links or files by receiving the necessary training. Phishing emails typically appear to be sent from innocent-looking email accounts.
   • Services like KnowBe4 offer thorough and continuous training that can help staff members catch up quickly and lower the likelihood that a cyber breach caused by carelessness or ignorance would affect your government.
   • Another strategy to increase employee cyber resilience is to hire tech-savvy government employees who can guide more senior colleagues through the dangers and challenges of the emerging cyber risk landscape and who comprehend cybersecurity best practices.
7. Apply Two-Factor Verification
   • A computer-generated code known as “two-factor authentication,” sometimes known as “identity authentication,” is sent to the email address or phone number of the user whose login credentials are linked to a certain website or service. The user will then be required to fill out a form on the website or digital service using the code that was texted to their phone in order to continue.
   • This helps prevent ransomware attacks by ensuring that the user’s login credentials match the related personal phone number or email address.

All things considered, it is abundantly evident that local authorities need to act to strengthen their cybersecurity. By taking precautionary measures, your local government’s IT department should aim to eradicate ransomware by 2024. If this isn’t done, there may be a loss of private data and substantial recovery expenses.

To ensure that the town and its valuable assets are protected from even the most skilled hackers, do away with on-site servers, encrypt your data, use.gov, and migrate to cloud-based government administration software.