GAO Releases Report Requested by Senator Hassan on Federal Support for State and Local Cybersecurity
WASHINGTON – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released a report, requested by Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), on its review of the federal government’s efforts to support state and local governments against ransomware attacks. The report highlights several of Senator Hassan’s bipartisan efforts to strengthen state and local governments’ cybersecurity.
“From cyberattacks on the Town of Peterborough to the Sunapee School District, it’s clear that we need to help communities to defend against cyberattacks,” said Senator Hassan. “This report highlights the progress we’ve made in strengthening state and local cybersecurity, including through programs that I’ve pushed for as Chair of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight, as well as the challenges that we must continue working to address. I will keep working across the aisle on ways to strengthen cybersecurity, including through improving the federal government’s coordination with state and local entities.”
The GAO’s report reviewed federal efforts to provide ransomware prevention and response assistance to state, local, tribal, and territorial government organizations.
As part of GAO’s findings, the report highlights various initiatives that Senator Hassan helped establish or fund, including:
- The state and local cybersecurity grant program which Senator Hassan secured $1 billion for to help local governments better protect their networks from cyber intrusions;
- The National Guard’s cyber security assistance to state and local governments, which Senator Hassan has worked to set up;
- Cyber incident response teams that Senator Hassan and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) worked to enshrine into law to help prevent cyberattacks at all levels of government and the private sector, and help mitigate the impact of such attacks when they occur; and
- The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center program which ensures that the federal government communicates information on cyber threats and best practices to state and local entities.
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