Two recent and costly ransomware attacks perpetrated against Florida cities have raised renewed concerns about this pernicious cyber threat among Florida’s municipalities and businesses. To help mitigate this ongoing threat to Florida’s businesses and organizations, Cyber Florida at the University of South Florida has published a free Guide to Ransomware Prevention, available online at https://www.cyberflorida.org/gov.
“Ransomware is a national concern, and it is not going away,” remarked Sri Sridharan, director of Cyber Florida at USF. “This guide offers a few critical, yet highly cost-effective steps that organizations can implement to help reduce their risk of becoming a victim of ransomware.”
The Guide to Ransomware Prevention is part of a larger forthcoming campaign by Cyber Florida in partnership with the University of South Florida School of Public Affairs, the Florida League of Cities, the Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA), the Florida Association of Counties, and the Florida Local Government Information Systems Association (FGLISA) to help improve the cybersecurity posture of Florida’s local
governments by providing resources and education. The Cybersecurity for Local Government initiative will include a free guidebook, available in October, as well as a series of hands-on workshops held throughout the state.
The first workshop is scheduled to be held in conjunction with Florida Cyber Conference 2019 on October 24 at the Tampa Convention. For more information on the workshops and to register for the Tampa event, visit https://www.cyberflorida.org/gov.
About Cyber Florida
Hosted by the University of South Florida, the Florida Center for Cybersecurity (Cyber Florida) is a state-funded organization dedicated to positioning Florida as a national leader in cybersecurity through education and workforce development; innovative, interdisciplinary research; and community outreach. Cyber Florida works with all 12 State University System of Florida (SUS) institutions as well as industry, government and
defense to build partnerships and develop programs that grow and strengthen Florida’s cybersecurity industry.
