Despite Widespread Ransomware Concerns, Only 38 Percent of State and Local Government Employees Trained in Prevention

According to the results of a poll recently conducted by IBM, only 38 percent of state and local government employees are trained on ransomware prevention. Additionally, budgets for managing cyber attacks have remained stagnant according to 52 percent of the state and local government IT/security professionals who were polled. These findings were in spite of 73 percent of those polled indicating they are concerned about impending ransomware threats. Additionally, 1 in 6 respondents disclosed their department had been impacted by a ransomware attack. “The emerging ransomware epidemic in our cities highlights the need for cities to better prepare for cyber attacks just as frequently as they prepare for natural disasters,” said Wendi Whitmore, VP of Threat Intelligence, IBM Security. “The data in this new study suggests local and state employees recognize the threat but demonstrate over confidence in their ability to react to and manage it. Meanwhile, cities and states across the country remain a ripe target for cybercriminals.” However, the results did show some improvements since last year. When asked whether they had seen any increases in preparedness and concern for cybersecurity in their departments, government employees claimed they had seen more improvements than not, and nearly 70 percent think their employers are currently taking the threat of cyber attacks seriously. City and state employees ranked ransomware #3 among the threats they were most familiar with – demonstrating that well publicized attacks are increasing awareness. Read the article at IBM.