Recent Coronavirus Relief Funds include an allocation to improve the state of Florida’s cybersecurity infrastructure to cope with, overcome, and prevent the rise in cyber attacks that have occurred across Florida since the turn of the year.
Boosting Cybersecurity Infrastructure
The bill’s sponsor, Representative Mike Giallambardo is well aware of the epidemic of cyberattacks that have targeted schools, including Broward County, which is the sixth-largest school district in the country and contains 271,000 students.
The House Bill (HB 1297), recently received unanimous votes from the State Administration and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee, which proves that everyone understands how cyber attacks can affect individuals, regardless of who they are.
With the signing of the bill, we will see the birth of the Florida Digital Service. This will be a part of the DMS and is responsible for maintaining cybersecurity across the board. This will have crucial implications for the security of data and information of schools, businesses, and individuals across the state.
The bill also upgrades state regulations and standards to ensure they meet the federal level. This will include training for IT professionals within state agencies. This will teach professionals to recognize and assess threats before they become too much. This should help to eliminate the number of cyberattacks that have plagued the state.
Why Cybersecurity Matters
Cybersecurity is one of the most common issues that organizations and businesses face. Although many people know about cyber risks, they do not realize that it can happen to anyone, and this is where hackers thrive.
This is no more evident than with the recent Broward County ransomware attack. Those who have not educated themselves about cybersecurity may not understand why a school district would be targeted.
It proves that no business or organization is safe, which means cybersecurity should apply to everybody.
Threats to Florida Businesses
With a robust cybersecurity setup provided by an IT company in Bradenton, schools, businesses, and government bodies have the peace of mind they need to keep their data and information safe. Without a reliable cybersecurity system, there is a risk of being held to ransom, losing crucial data, or having sensitive information exposed.
Such issues can severely harm your organization’s progress, disrupt your day or week, and damage your reputation. It could even put individuals at risk, both financially and personally.
You should not expect the cybersecurity company to do all of the heavy lifting, though.
Education about how to identify cyberattacks – and hopefully avoid them altogether – is a crucial element in cybersecurity.
Without the knowledge to recognize suspicious emails, phishing scams, and more, organizations will always be at risk from a cyber threat.
Although Broward County did not need to pay the ransom amount (reported as $4 million), other organizations may not be so lucky. Therefore it is in the best interests of any company or enterprise to consider the importance of cybersecurity to protect the business, employees, customers, and anybody else associated.
Protecting Florida Organizations
Overall, the bill is designed to educate about vulnerabilities that organizations face. With an increased focus on cybersecurity. With $31.6 million allocated by the General Revenue Fund and 15 full-time positions available, Florida businesses, schools, and government agencies will have the support they need to avoid cyberattacks in the future.