All organizations have an obligation to act as caretakers of the personal data they accept.

Because state and local government has a duty to protect not just its data, but more critically its people, cyber security becomes much more than an IT issue – it becomes an issue of public safety.

Key Challenges in State and Local Government Network Security

• Election Hacking
• Outdated Legacy Technology
• Visibility Across Decentralized Networks

Did You Know?

80% of state governments say that funding is their top challenge in government information security

ELECTION HACKING SOLUTIONS

Risk Assessments. 42% of government officials have not performed a network security audit within the past 12 months, but just like any other organization, local governments should regularly assess the effectiveness of their information security efforts. Often, it’s helpful to bring in an outside expert who may be better able to spot potential risks, gaps in compliance, and areas where security could be improved. A WatchGuard MSSP can provide valuable guidance and may see vulnerable security gaps that your internal teams cannot.

Employee Education. Even the most fastidiously trained staff member could make a mistake; maybe they’re clicking through morning emails pre-coffee, or maybe they happen upon a particularly well-crafted phish. WatchGuard DNSWatch enables you to not only protect against a hapless click, but also provide immediate training prompts to reinforce phishing awareness.

OUTDATED LEGACY TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

A relatively easy way to upgrade existing infrastructure – without needing to rip and replace an entire existing system at once – is with WatchGuard wireless access points. Each appliance has the flexibility to operate as both an access point and a dedicated WIPS (Wireless Intrusion Prevention System) security sensor. This means that when deployed as dedicated WIPS sensors, the devices work with your existing access points (Cisco, Aruba, Ruckus, Ubiquiti, etc.) to add enterprise-grade wireless security protection to your network.

A stateful packet firewall, while essential, isn’t enough anymore. The reality is that every network needs a full arsenal of scanning engines to protect against spyware and viruses, malicious apps and data leakage – all the way through ransomware, botnets, advanced persistent threats, and zero day malware. WatchGuard’s Total Security Suite provides the most complete package of unified security controls on the market today, all in one cost-effective and easy-to-deploy license.

Because passwords alone are easily compromised, WatchGuard’s AuthPoint service implements MFA (multi-factor authentication) using the AuthPoint app to facilitate user authentication.

VISIBILITY ACROSS DECENTRALIZED NETWORKS

WatchGuard Dimension provides intuitive reporting methods (such as real-time dashboards) that make it easy to communicate threat activity and remediation to senior government leaders and officials.

Government agencies require not only visibility into both network and endpoint event data, but also the ability to quickly leverage actionable insight to remove threats. WatchGuard’s ThreatSync collects event data from a WatchGuard Firebox, its Host Sensor, and enterprise-grade threat intelligence feeds, analyzes this data using a proprietary algorithm, and assigns a comprehensive threat score and rank.