Protect Your Government Organization from Cyber Threats

Did you know this last year (2023) there has been a 40% increase in cyber-attacks against public sector organizations?

Cyber-attacks tend to increase when there are operations running on legacy systems, gaps in security talent or when a government organization’s approach to cybersecurity are not evolving. Today’s sophisticated kill chains – or stages of a cyber-attack – are often composed of a series of low fidelity signals, making it incredibly challenging to correlate alerts across siloed solutions and see an enterprise-wide view of the entire kill chain. This issue is further compounded by legacy security tools, including SIEMs (Security information and event management), that were not designed for today’s hybrid environment. As a result, many organizations have large gaps in visibility and coverage across their environment. 

Cybersecurity is complex and requires the need for constant innovation, skilled resources, automation, and scalability. If a threat isn’t detected, it could result in a full-on cyber-attack against your government organization, and it could be catastrophic. It could disrupt vital services that people rely on every day. It could bring operations to a complete stop. It could compromise the identities of your government workforce or the public.

As governments expand their digital ecosystem and cyber threats increase and attacks become more sophisticated, it’s never been more important than it is right now to do everything in your power to protect your digital estate and that starts with having the ability to detect threats early. 

Benefits of having the ability to prevent, detect, and respond to sophisticated threats:

1. You are better equipped to defend against cyberattacks. AI and automated tools can help you prevent, detect, and respond to threats like phishing attempts and credential theft.
2. Modernization of your cybersecurity capabilities and implementation of the zero trust architecture can protect your digital infrastructure and safeguard public data.
3. Feel confident that your hybrid workspaces are secure, allowing government employees to securely work anywhere, anytime, on any device.
4. Improved security outcomes with fewer resources by updating your government cybersecurity operations while addressing the security talent gap.

Take action:

Modernize your security operations center to put your organization in a better position to manage, detect and respond to threats across your whole digital ecosystem.

• Get Started By: Completing the Microsoft Learn Module – Foundations of a modern public sector security operations center.

Implement a Zero Trust approach to secure all layers of your digital estate that will explicitly and continuously verify every transaction, providing you with advance detection and real-time response.

• Get Started By: Exploring the learning collection How to Implement Zero Trust in Your Public Sector Organization

Make sure your hybrid and remote workspaces are as secure as possible.

• Get Started By: Reading the article Create a Secure and Productive Working Environment for Government Employees

Refresh or advance your skills by taking the following training & the exams and getting certified:

• Introduction to Microsoft 365 threat protection
• Design solutions for security operations
• Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals
• Microsoft 365 Fundamentals
• Microsoft Security Operations Analyst

Microsoft Learning Pathways and Learning Companions:

Learning Pathways and Learning Companions are a collection of resources to help you advance your learning journey in a particular role or topic area.

• Security Operations Analyst
• Azure Security Engineer
• Identity and Access Admin
• Information Protection Admin
• Microsoft Sentinel

Additional Resources:

• All security resources on the Public Sector Center of Expertise

Success Stories:

Learn more about how governments around the world are protecting their organization from cyber threats.

• City of Brampton enacts first-class security, reduces alert noise by 70 percent with Microsoft Security solutions and Difenda Shield
• Government of Albania recovers from cyberattack in three days, builds resilience with Microsoft Security solutions
• Finnish Tax Administration builds citizens’ trust with a more secure cloud platform
• Government of Nunavut comes back stronger after ransomware attack with Microsoft security solutions

To find out more:

• Understanding Digital Transformation in Government
• Cutting Edge Technologies to Improve Government Performance and Service
• Data Culture: Data Driven Organizations