CIS will collaborate with NACo to assist county governments in preventing and responding to cyber threats
East Greenbush, N.Y. (PRWEB) July 30, 2012
The Center for Internet Security (CIS), a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving cyber security in the public and private sectors, today announced that representatives of CIS will serve on the new National Association of Counties (NACo) Cyber Security Task Force. The Task Force brings together government, academia and the private sector to raise awareness among county elected officials about cyber threats and connect them with cyber security resources. The Task Force is one of the NACo Presidential Initiatives implemented by incoming president Chris Rodgers. NACo, which advances issues on behalf of county governments, made the announcement at its annual conference this month.
CIS operates the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), which has been designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division as a key resource for cyber threat prevention, protection, response and recovery for the nation’s state, local, territorial and tribal governments. MS-ISAC membership includes representatives from all 50 states, several U.S. territories and hundreds of local governments, including all 50 state capital cities. The collaboration with NACo will help the MS-ISAC further expand its outreach to the nation’s more than 3,000 county governments in order to provide them with cyber services such as incident response, cyber alerts and advisories and user awareness education.
NACo President Chris Rodgers is also a member of the MS-ISAC Executive Committee. Rodgers, who is the Commissioner of Douglas County, Nebraska, was instrumental in putting the spotlight on cyber security and making it a priority focus for the association.
“The MS-ISAC is pleased to collaborate with NACo in raising awareness about cyber security and providing resources to assist counties in protecting their cyber infrastructure,” said William F. Pelgrin, CIS President and CEO. “We are proud to have Chris serve on the MS-ISAC Executive Committee. His knowledge of the challenges facing county governments is invaluable in guiding our efforts.”
“Technology has been and will be the driving force of this century. We highlight the good sides of this force in regard to the innovations and efficiencies it has created, but we have not given enough attention to the dark side of this force…cyber attacks,” said Chris Rodgers, NACo President. “In today’s world where cyber has become a strategy in war, America’s Counties are key players in homeland security; commissioners, supervisors, and local policy makers have to become educated on this issue and be ready to protect our citizens from breaches of confidentiality and more.”
About the Center for Internet Security The Center for Internet Security (CIS) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the cyber security readiness and response of public and private sector entities, with a commitment to excellence through collaboration. CIS comprises three divisions: the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which serves as a key cyber security resource for the nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal (SLTT) governments; the Security Benchmarks Division, which provides consensus best practice standards for security configurations; and the Trusted Purchasing Alliance, which serves SLTT governments and not-for-profits in achieving a greater cyber security posture through trusted expert guidance and cost-effective procurement.
Leave a Reply