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Digital Inclusion, Information Security

US State launches initiative against cyber attacks

By Gosia Klimowicz | 26 April 2012 | Views: 1106

The Michigan Cyber Initiative is an umbrella project that contains several parts, including a new training and awareness program, a comprehensive cybersecurity detection and response system and the establishment of improved information sharing between public and private sector entities regarding cyber threats.

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“The benefits of online technology are enormous,” Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said at the announcement. “Unfortunately, attacks on our personal safety and economic security through the Internet continue to grow and expand. Michigan is taking a leadership role with regard to protecting the vulnerable ecosystem in the cyber world, and in accelerating the economic development and growth of the cybersecurity industry. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with our federal partners on this critical issue.”

“Our timeline for the overall program is three years, although specific deliverables for various projects will be available in 2012.”, explained Dan Lohrmann, CISO, State of Michigan.

“For example, we plan to deliver new cyber training to all our employees by the end of this year. We want to offer next generation cyber training that is relevant to their jobs, intriguing to end users, comprehensive (covering everything from mobile devices to home laptops to cloud computing) and even fun to take. We want to raise the bar on training by offering both a “carrot and stick” approach.”

In addition to that, Michigan is getting ready to initiate new Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology alternatives, as well as a new enterprise wide-risk assessment projects. The State is also developing new projects in partnership in with the Multi-State Information Sharing Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) and the Department of Homeland Security, and working with private sector partners to examine testbed opportunities for training and testing new cyber defense projects.

The overall budget for cybersecurity in Michigan government is approximately $10 million (US), which is about 2% of the Information, Technology and Communications (ICT) spending. Michigan is also applying for a variety of federal grants and seeking public/private partnerships for several cybersecurity and infrastructure protection initiatives. They expect our new training programs to cost less than $100,000 (US) for about 48,000 state employees.