Headlines in Cybersecurity: What States Should Know - Day 1 Modernization of Legacy Security Systems

The pace and impact of cyberattacks on government and critical infrastructure IT systems have accelerated over the past several years. Malware inserted into software platforms and widely distributed to customers; ransomware attacks taking down hospitals and local governments; hacks endangering water systems – all of these and many more show that our systems are under siege.

Join us for these five one-hour webinars spread over five days, as thought leaders from government at all levels and the contracting community focus each day on a specific aspect of the cyber threat environment and ways to more effectively respond and protect their most valuable assets – their data and IT systems.

Day 1: Modernization of Legacy Security Systems     

One of the biggest vulnerabilities state and local governments face is the huge installed base of legacy hardware and software. They are very expensive to maintain, draining resources that could be used to offer new, internet-based services. They often are riddled with security flaws, from bad code to unsecured ports –it’s next to impossible to keep up with all the patches that need to be implemented.

The pandemic revealed just how badly these systems need upgrading when millions of Americans struggled to file for pandemic-related unemployment and it took the IRS 20 weeks to send pandemic relief checks to eligible taxpayers.

Join us as thought leaders from government and industry discuss the barriers to updating legacy systems, the challenges to improving security for them, the possible role of the federal Technology Modernization Fund in making changes, and how integration of new technologies such as cloud are attempting to provide more resilience, among other topics.