Cyber criminals increasingly target state and county governments

(The Center Square) – Government agencies are facing a growing number of cyberattacks.

The Center for Internet Security reported dramatic increases in both malware and ransomware attacks against government in the first eight months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.

James Carafano, senior counselor to the president at the Heritage Foundation, emphasized the importance of preparing for cyber threats.

“The effort you put up front to mitigate some of the threats that you might face is infinitely cheaper in the long run than dealing with the crisis after the crisis occurs,” Carafano said.

Bernard Malkov, IT operations manager for the Lake County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office, said updated equipment and training are both important.

“From security awareness training, constant education, making sure our users are being vigilant when clicking on links, stuff like that. It’s a combination of things,” Malkov said.

The Center for Internet Security found that cyberattacks against state and local governments increased dramatically last year. The nonprofit group reported that malware attacks jumped 148% in the first eight months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022. The number of ransomware attacks increased 51%.

Governments across Illinois have experienced the effects of cyberattacks.

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office reported a data security incident last May.

Henry County suffered a ransomware attack in March.

Tazewell County’s communications systems were disabled after a cyber incident last November.

The state of Illinois reported a ransomware attack in June 2023.

Malkov said government agencies collaborate with each other for prevention.

“They send out lists of bad actors, IP addresses to block, so there is a lot of coordination going on at the federal level, at the state level. We all do communicate through a lot of different mechanisms to help combat these bad actors,” Malkov said.

James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation is a 25-year Army veteran and co-author of the book, “Homeland Security.” Carafano said many law enforcement agencies use drones, which also may be at risk.

“Many of them are using drones that are made in China, which means that they are completely vulnerable to the Chinese hacking, getting into their systems, stealing data, getting data from them,” Carafano said.

Carafano said that the Chinese government pays hackers to target U.S. government officials and other entities.

Last March, the U.S. Department of Justice charged seven hackers associated with the Chinese government with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the prolific global hacking operation was backed by China’s regime.