Ransomware attacks on state and local governments escalated in 2020 as cybercriminals targeted work-from-home employees and vulnerable infrastructure. As we start to navigate 2021, new threats will emerge and the old will remain. So what steps can agencies take to improve their cybersecurity posture and update vulnerable legacy systems, especially while facing budget shortfalls?
On March 2 at 11am PT/2pm ET, Government Technology is hosted a webcast on how agencies can better control user privileges and applications without hindering end-user productivity. Watch now to hear our panel of cybersecurity experts also discuss:
- The forecasted ransomware trends of 2021 and how to prepare
- Actionable strategies to decrease the risks of ransomware in a work-from-home environment
- How to take advantage of CARES Act and other funding to combat ransomware
Adam Ford currently serves as the Chief Information Security Officer and Acting Chief Data Officer for the State of Illinois at the Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT). In addition to oversight of State of Illinois information security systems and risk programs, Adam also manages the Illinois Election Cyber Navigators in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Elections and the Illinois State Police’s Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center. In his 18 years with the State of Illinois, he has held a number of roles in Information Security and computer networking. He holds a Masters in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from Western Governors and a Bachelors from Illinois College. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
Deborah is accomplished C-level influencer, with a broad range of experience in government, policy, cyber security, privacy and information technology. An experienced and highly-respected thought-leader who has held executive roles for over two decades.
She recently retired from her position as New York State’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), after over 35 years of public service.
In that role, as part of New York State's information technology transformation and consolidation initiative, she helped redesign how the state protects its data. As State CISO, she directed the State’s comprehensive cyber security governance, risk management and compliance program, providing strategic leadership and vision, and assuring business-aligned, risk-based investments that maximized business opportunity and minimized cyber security risk. She also directed the NYS Cyber Command Center, hotline, procedures for reporting and response to cyber-threats, and digital forensics.
She holds multiple industry certifications including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), SANS Strategic Planning, Policy, and Leadership (GSTRT) Global Information Assurance Certification, and Project Management Institute certified Project Management Professional (PMP).za
Morey J. Haber is the Chief Security Officer at BeyondTrust. He has more than 25 years of IT industry experience and has authored three books: Privileged Attack Vectors, Asset Attack Vectors, and Identity Attack Vectors. He is a founding member of the industry group Transparency in Cyber, and in 2020 was elected to the Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA) Executive Advisory Board. Morey currently oversees BeyondTrust security and governance for corporate and cloud based solutions and regularly consults for global periodicals and media. He originally joined BeyondTrust in 2012 as a part of the eEye Digital Security acquisition where he served as a Product Owner and Solutions Engineer since 2004. Prior to eEye, he was Beta Development Manager for Computer Associates, Inc. He began his career as Reliability and Maintainability Engineer for a government contractor building flight and training simulators. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Daniel J. Lohrmann is an internationally recognized cybersecurity leader, technologist, keynote speaker and author. He led Michigan government’s cybersecurity and technology infrastructure teams from May 2002 to August 2014, including as enterprise-wide Chief Security Officer (CSO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). During his distinguished career, he has served both the public and private sectors in a variety of executive leadership capacities including advising senior leaders at the White House, National Governors Association (NGA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Throughout his career he has received numerous national awards including: CSO of the Year, Public Official of the Year and Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leader.
