Sunday, August 7, 2022 | 9:00 a.m – 10 a.m.
Megan Bixler, Technical Program Manager, APCO International

Cyberattacks are occurring every day against public and private entities. The stages of a cyberattack were explained and these attack methods were discussed:

• Ransomware
• Spyware
• Adware
• Phishing
• SMishing
• Spoofing / Swatting
• Social Engineering

Cyber crime is only likely to increase, despite the best efforts of government agencies and cybersecurity experts. Its growth is driven by the increasing number of online services and the increasing sophistication of cyber criminals engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with security experts.

The critical first step is establishing an information risk management regime that identifies the security risks it faces and the policy for dealing with them. ECCs should protect their information and communications technology by adopting standard security measures and managing how the systems are configured and used. They should also disable unnecessary functions and keep security patches up to date.  Basic cyber hygiene best practices are an excellent first step to mitigating cyber-attacks.  “As P43 states, we should bake in cybersecurity, not bolt it on,” said Bixler.

Should an ECC experience a cyberattack, they should:

• Contact local authorities.
• File a complaint with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) portal (www.ic3.gov).  In the report, include keywords such as “PSAP” and “Public Safety.”
• Contact the Department of Homeland Security – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA); phone: (703) 235-5080.