DEPARTMENT: Information Technology
FILE TYPE: Consent Action
TITLE
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Proclamation Of October 2022 As Cyber Security Awareness Month
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PURPOSE/ACTION REQUESTED
Proclaim October 2022 as Cyber Security Awareness Month in Dakota County.
SUMMARY
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance have traditionally designated October as Cyber Security Awareness Month. The National Association of Counties is encouraging member counties to also promote Cyber Security Awareness Month to bring attention to the increasing cyber security threats all levels of governments and residents are facing.
Dakota County provides a wide variety of services that expose the County to many types of sensitive information. Staff work with health care and welfare records, criminal justice data, property and environmental records, financial and social security identifiers, information on veterans, minors and other staff. The nature of the information and data maintained by Dakota County puts Dakota County at significant risk of cyber-attacks.
Dakota County Information Technology Department (IT), with the support of the County Board and Senior Leadership Team, is continually working to improve our security defenses in response to escalating cyber threats. Cybersecurity threats have increased as bad actors try to take advantage of the shift towards remote and hybrid work environments. In response we have increased, and will continue to increase, our monitoring and reporting. All of these changes make the County network more secure from outside threats. Because human error is widely considered the cause of at least a quarter of all reportable security breaches, it is critical that everyone understand their role in securing personal and County information. To that end, the County has a robust training plan that requires employees to stay current on threats and their responsibility in mitigating them. This includes monthly simulated phishing emails to sta...
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