Cybersecurity Just Got Personal – My County Was Held Hostage

By Judd Robins, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Renewing my car tag should have been quick. But a cyberattack unexpectedly compromised Atlanta, GA’s (Fulton County) digital infrastructure. It paralyzed the local government’s digital systems, making routine tasks like paying water bills, accessing records and renewing a car tag impossible.

The financial impact was steep, with an estimated $10-15 million cost to restore services plus another $10 million to harden the county’s cybersecurity infrastructure against future attacks (according to WSB Channel 2). As a local resident and cybersecurity executive, this attack hit close to home.

The Escalating Attack on Public Data

Cyberattacks, like the one in Fulton County, have become commonplace. Many public sector organizations are particularly vulnerable due to aging IT applications and very tight budgets.

In 2023, 2,365 reported cyberattacks affected over 343 million victims. This represents a staggering 72% increase in data breaches since 2021, which previously held the record for the most breaches. And there’s more:

These statistics highlight the escalating scope of cyber threats and the urgent need for enhanced security solutions — solutions that my team at TekStream provides to safeguard private and public organizations, like Fulton County, from debilitating cyberattacks.

A Call to Action: How Organizations Like Fulton County Can Protect Themselves

No organization — public or private — is 100% secure. Many struggle to stay ahead of cyber threats, grapple with workforce shortages and often lack the necessary security coverage for their specific environments. At TekStream, we’ve been tackling these challenges for years and have tailored our cybersecurity solutions to address them effectively.

Using our Visibility, Fidelity and Automation (VFA) framework within a collaborative Splunk security environment, our MDR services assess and enhance clients’ security maturity. This strategic approach allows us to identify critical areas that require immediate attention, ensuring that security measures are precisely aligned with each organization’s unique needs.

One of the key tools in our solution set of particular interest to government and educational IT departments is our deployment of a Shared Security Operations Center (Shared SOC). This innovative model allows multiple public sector teams to collaborate, sharing resources and intelligence.

The Shared SOC not only broadens the scope of threat detection but also enhances the collective response capabilities, significantly strengthening the cybersecurity posture across organizations at a reduced cost of operations. Coincident with deploying a Shared SOC is our approach to addressing the significant gap in skilled cybersecurity professionals.

Our SOC capabilities include providing supervised on-the-job training (OJT) of client personnel by our experienced MDR specialists, rapidly upskilling new entrants and enhancing the abilities of current team members. This initiative helps overcome the severe shortage in skilled cybersecurity talent and prepares teams to effectively counter and manage evolving cyber threats.

An example of this model in action is the work we have done with Louisiana State University (LSU ) to set up their cybersecurity infrastructure through a Shared SOC. This collaborative effort between LSU, the university system and the state, has allowed LSU to significantly enhance its threat detection and response capabilities while developing the next generation of cybersecurity talent.

At TekStream, we’re constantly working with clients to deploy creative solutions to enhance public sector cybersecurity cost effectively. Our goal is simple: to enable organizations to respond to threats while proactively anticipating and managing them.

The results ensure that public entities are well-equipped to protect their critical digital infrastructures and the services provided to the constituents they serve.

Securing Tomorrow

Cyberattacks, like the one we experienced in Fulton County, demonstrate the vulnerability of our digital infrastructures. They disrupt essential services and personal safety.

As part of a team that works hard to thwart these attacks, my car tag nightmare was a reminder of the importance of the work we do. It’s also a call for all public sector entities like Fulton County to aggressively seek solution partners like us to prevent the massive costs and disruptions that all the citizens of Fulton had to endure.

To learn more about options to secure your cyber assets, read our guide, The Cybersecurity Paradox: Billions Spent but Breaches Boom. Or contact us for an evaluation of how your organization can cost-effectively secure its applications and better serve its constituents with a customized MDR solution.