NOVEMBER 20238GOVERNMENT CIO OUTLOOKIN MYOPINIONoTHE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION SECURITY AND DATA PRIVACY SUPPORT IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ur local government has evolved from providing basic services to its constituents to managing a complex landscape of services to address further complex needs such as public safety, transportation, health services and many others. Technology plays a crucial role in providing these services successfully and reporting on the efficiency of the process and the outcome. With the complexity of technology and the massive amounts of data collected and processed every day, local government evolved how it acquires, implements, and monitors technology solutions. In addition, strategies must be developed to manage what data is collected, how it is collected, where it is stored and disposed of when its purpose is obsolete. These intricacies present new risks local government did not consider in the past. Moreover, the growth of the cybersecurity threat landscape has added more pressure to start considering the new risks presented to local government in a more scientific way. Many public entities overlook understanding the importance of information security and data privacy because there is either no tangible return on investment in these programs or because of the following notion, "No one will attack our organization because we are not that big and have no financial assets like banks and other private organizations." These organizations neglect to understand the recent breaches and attacks involving similar groups in the government sector and consider the lessons learned from these events. Abdeslam Mazouz, Chief Information Security Officer, City of MinneapolisByAbdeslam Mazouz
< Page 7 | Page 9 >