Trend Analysis Report – State and Local Government Organizations are Attractive Targets for Ransomware, BEC

Sentinel One has written a blog discussing the types of cyberthreats that state and local government entities face and why they are the targets of these threats.

Non-federal government organizations handle significant amounts of sensitive information to meet their duty to provide public services, yet limited budgets result in small IT departments and aging technology. This makes for an attractive victim, with Blackberry’s latest Global Threat Intelligence Report finding attacks on the sector have increased 40% since the last reporting period.

Ransomware is the primary threat the public sector faces, with Sophos finding ransomware attacks targeting the sector have increased year over year from 58% to 69% of total attacks. This is likely due to how important public sector organizations’ missions are, creating extra pressure to pay ransoms in a timely manner. The article also cites BEC, phishing, and the inability to patch in a timely manner due to regulatory and resource limitations as major public sector threats. Read more at Sentinel One.