Selected links to items focusing on government operations posted on the Internet during the week ending February 23, 2024

"AI Is Going to Cause the Next Digital Divide" At Net Inclusion 2024, digital equity experts weighed in on the potential inequities inherent to the acceleration of artificial intelligence, offering advice to those wanting to prepare. READ MORE

Active Shooter Defense Classes Gain Popularity in Texas The rising number of gun deaths in Texas has inspired a $3 billion industry of active shooter training, consultants, surveillance technologies and safety infrastructure. Some experts aren’t certain the touted strategies are effective. READ MORE

An Urgent Opportunity to Close the Medicaid Gap Ten states have yet to expand eligibility under the Affordable Care Act. Doing so would save lives, improve financial well-being, save states money and support regional economies. READ MORE

Annual Report: The 2024 State of Online Payments Few utility and local government customer touchpoints are as operationally important as billing and payments. To help understand the preferences of their customer base in 2024, over 2,000 American billpayers were surveyed for insights on trends and general bill payment behaviors. DOWNLOAD PDF

Automating Permit Applications Agencies and businesses desire quicker permit approvals. Automation via low-code tools and open source software streamlines processes effectively. READ MORE

Best Practices in Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Discover six best practices to reduce risk, strengthen compliance, and achieve cyber resilience. DOWNLOAD NOW [CONTENT PROVIDED BY COHESITY]

Bridging Communication Gaps in Civic Infrastructure Projects From roads to bridges to drainage systems, a successful civic infrastructure project requires communication among all stakeholders. But communication challenges can arise throughout the life cycle of any infrastructure asset. READ MORE

Chicago Commuter Rail Buys First Battery-Powered Train Chicago’s main metro transit system will purchase eight of the two-car trains for $154 million, and may spend up to $181.4 million extra for more. The trains will run during off-peak times. READ MORE

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Finds Malware in City Computers Affected systems have been taken offline as officials work to fix it, and the city's website was inaccessible Monday, with Coeur d'Alene's mayor, Jim Hammond, confirming the city's phone system was down. READ MORE [CONTENT PROVIDED BY COHESITY]

Colorado Public Defender's Office Forced Offline by Cyber Attack A malware attack on the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender has forced it to shut down its computer network. Public defenders are blocked from their work computers and electronic court dockets and filings. READ MORE

County Leaders Lobby for Extension of Affordable Internet Members of the National Association of Counties were in Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to extend funding for a program providing subsidies to help low-income households afford broadband Internet service. READ MORE

Fighting Ransomware: A Deep Dive into the Changing Landscape of Ransomware in 2024 This webcast provides insight into the changing landscape of ransomware and the increasing popularity of intentional remote encryption. [CONTENT PROVIDED BY SOPHOS] REGISTER TODAY

Florida Could Claw $40M for Cyber Grants Back to the State A new proposal in the state Legislature could claw back $40 million in local government cybersecurity grants. The move would be a substantial blow to the state’s Local Government Cybersecurity Grant program. READ MORE

Florida Workers Are Losing Union Representation. What Comes Next? An anti-union bill that passed last year requires most public-sector unions to increase the rate of members paying dues or be disbanded. Some unions, including  police, firefighters and correctional officers, are exempt from the new law. READ MORE

For Universities, More Out-of-State Students Means More Money In 47 states, schools have a higher proportion of students from elsewhere than they did 20 years ago. READ MORE

Generative AI Guardrails: How to Address Shadow AI New terminology and cyber questions about generative artificial intelligence keep popping up. Can AI be governed? How can GenAI be secured? By whom? Using what tools and processes? READ MORE

Global Cyber Threat Report Spotlights Cloud Abuse, Cyber Extortion 2023 saw more cloud-based intrusions and data breach-based extortion. Cyber extortion and ransomware, plus election-related disinformation, are likely to be key concerns in 2024, too. READ MORE

Hackers Remove Threat to Post Stolen Fulton County Data The countdown clock on a website containing screenshots of information stolen from Fulton County, Ga., servers two weeks ago hit zero on Friday, and then mysteriously disappeared. READ MORE

High-Speed Internet Means High-Speed Innovation Fast and reliable internet empowers innovation. America’s cable broadband providers are working hard to ensure every American has robust connectivity. READ MORE [CONTENT PROVIDED BY NCTA]

Honolulu CIO Mark Wong Announces Plans to Retire
Mark Wong, the longtime director of technology for the city and county of Honolulu, plans to retire at the end of the year, according to officials with Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s office. READ MORE

House Establishes a New Bipartisan Task Force on AI This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries announced the establishment of a new task force that will help Congress to better understand artificial intelligence and its related risks. READ MORE

How ‘Deep Learning’ Can Predict Where Wildfires Will Start The new machine learning method can produce in 21 hours what existing wildfire prediction models do in months and forecast where fires are likely to strike weeks further in advance.

How Process Automation Improves the Government Experience For state and local government organizations, process automation goes hand in hand with systems integrations efforts to help states, cities and counties create a better, more satisfying government experience (GovX). DOWNLOAD PDF

How to Spot Political Deepfake Ads This Year While deepfakes are evolving and do pose a threat to this year’s elections, they are not without flaws. With a discerning eye, it’s often possible to identify falsified video, photos or audio recordings of politicians. READ MORE

Kansas Unveils Cyber Program to Safeguard Water Systems After a Kansas drinking water treatment facility was compromised through remote access on a former employee's cellphone in 2019, the state is launching a tool to assess the cybersecurity of the agencies in charge of keeping drinking water safe. READ MORE

Massachusetts Establishes AI Task Force by Executive Order This week, Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order to establish the Artificial Intelligence Strategic Task Force in order to better understand the potential impacts of AI and GenAI. READ MORE

Mastering the Government Experience This guide from the Center for Digital Government highlights key lessons learned, best practices and proven examples from states and localities across the country that are transforming GovX for the communities they serve. DOWNLOAD PDF

More Riders, Fewer Stations for Intercity Bus Lines Intercity bus ridership is up and should return to pre-pandemic levels by 2026. Other trends, including the closure of Greyhound stations in big cities such as Philadelphia, are less positive. READ MORE

National AT&T Outage Downs Phones, Internet With No Known Cause
Customers across the nation reported outages of call, text and Internet service. The incident prompted some emergency and police departments to issue advice to residents who were unable to place 911 calls. READ MORE

New Digital and IoT Solutions are Transforming How Cities Connect and Adapt To navigate the complex web of government operations and unlock city-wide IoT benefits, departments and agencies need the right mix of coverage and capability. LEARN MORE [CONTENT PROVIDED BY T-MOBILE FOR GOVERNMENT®]

North Carolina Moves Ahead With Broadband Equity Project Grants
North Carolina is making $14 million available to nonprofits, government agencies and others as part of the Digital Champion grants to expand digital equity. Some 230 applicants have applied. READ MORE

Ohio Lawmakers from Both Parties Want Crackdown on Deepfakes The Ohio House introduced legislation this month to outlaw the sharing of artificial media — including videos or audio — that impersonates real people in unflattering or compromising depictions. READ MORE

OpenAI CEO Seeks Government Blessing to Raise Billions for Chips OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman is working to secure U.S. government federal approval for a massive venture to boost global manufacturing of artificial intelligence chips. READ MORE

Oregon’s Rural Power Utility Has Become a Big Polluter Umatilla Electric Cooperative is responsible for 1.8 million tons of carbon emissions annually despite having just 16,000 customers. One of those customers is Amazon, which has data centers in areas where renewable energy access is limited. READ MORE

Pennsylvania Court Operations Restored After Cyber Attack The Pennsylvania court online operations have returned to normal following a disruptive cyber attack. The attack disabled access to online dockets, PACFile, PAePay and the Guardianship Tracking System, among other disruptions. READ MORE

Public Officials Pressured to Spend Billions on Sports Venues Professional sports teams are on the move and they’re leaning on state and local officials to help them. Subsidies exceeding $1 billion per deal are on the table. READ MORE

Rural Colleges in Colorado Band Together to Request More Funding Adams State University, Fort Lewis College and Western Colorado University are hoping for $3 million per institution from the state to ensure access for students from less populous areas. READ MORE

Securing California's Data with Enhanced Data Management The California Department of Finance (DOF) sought to enhance data security and efficiency. Leveraging Cohesity, the DOF achieved significant improvements in data management, data protection, and cost reduction. LEARN HOW

South Dakota IT Looks Ahead, Prioritizing the Citizen Experience As the state of South Dakota works to transform outdated IT systems, enhance cybersecurity and explore emerging technologies, state IT leadership is keeping the citizens’ experience at the heart of these efforts. READ MORE

South Dakota May Ease Signature Removal from Ballot Petitions State Rep. Jon Hansen has proposed making it easier for people who have signed a ballot initiative petition to be able to remove their signatures, which he says is “practically impossible” now. READ MORE

Stopping Active Adversaries: Lessons From The Cyber Frontline Get key learnings and actionable insights to guide your 2024 security strategy based from major cyber incidents remediated by the Sophos X-Ops team. [CONTENT PROVIDED BY SOPHOS] GET THE GUIDE

Texas Gives $125M to Rural Sheriffs, Prosecutors for Pay Increases The 2023 legislation establishing the grant program also includes new equipment for rural sheriffs. READ MORE

The ‘Visible Power’ of Black Lawmakers A total of eight African Americans are serving as the top chamber leaders in state legislatures. Meanwhile, the fallout from an Oregon Supreme Court ruling that barred some state senators from seeking re-election won't be as great as you might think. READ MORE

The Housing Opportunity Hidden in Plain Sight State and local governments have an opportunity to fill a sizable gap by subsidizing the conversion of market-rate properties into affordable housing. While costly, it's still cheaper than building new. READ MORE

Transforming Community Infrastructure for Water Conservation Local governments can drastically improve water conservation with a comprehensive approach to water management. READ MORE

What Could Entrepreneurs and Government Do Together? The co-author of a new book suggests that when technology, data and collective effort converge, government, the tech industry and higher education can tackle major challenges while bringing a new generation into the workforce. READ MORE

What's New in Digital Equity: Massachusetts Builds Digital Accessibility, Equity Board Plus, Maine is the first state to have its digital equity plan accepted, the NTCA is calling for a more effective challenge process for the national broadband map, and more. READ MORE

Where Will Government Point Its 2024 IT Dollars? The public-sector-facing technology industry convened this week for the Center for Digital Government’s annual Beyond the Beltway event. Highlights included a forecast of how state and local government will invest this year. READ MORE

Will Democrats Ever Embrace Charter Schools Again? They should. Charter schools aren’t magic, and plenty of them are worse than the average public school. But on average, charters are superior. READ MORE

New York State Governor Hochul Releases New York State's Cybersecurity Grant Plan

On February 23, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul released the New York State Cybersecurity Grant Plan, which details a whole-of-state approach to reduce cyber risk and build cyber resiliency in local governments statewide. Through the utilization of nearly $6 million in funding through the federal State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, this grant program will expand access to cybersecurity information, tools, resources, and services so that public sector entities in New York have access to the most sophisticated cyber defenses. Given the funding available, New York will use its economy of scale purchasing power to directly procure and deliver best-in-brand software, hardware, and services to eligible entities.

 

“A cyberattack can halt an entire community, and it’s essential that local governments have the resources and information needed to protect themselves and quickly respond to a cyber threat,” Governor Hochul said. “This funding will provide tools to help municipalities secure critical infrastructure to protect New Yorkers and reduce cyber risks.” 

 

As part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Congress established the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) to award funding to each state to help eligible entities address cybersecurity risks and threats to information systems owned or operated by or on behalf of State, local, tribal, and territorial governments. The SLCGP FY2022 funding allocation for New York is $5,810,605, and at least 80 percent of the funds will be allocated to goods and services for local government entities, with at least 25 percent of that allocated to entities in rural areas.

 

To ensure the maximum number of New York entities can benefit from the limited SLCGP funds, New York will directly procure software, hardware, and services for delivery to eligible entities. During the program’s first year, New York State is focusing on shared services initiatives to help local government entities build a baseline level of cybersecurity. These initiatives are:

           1.  Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA is a method to authenticate a user that requires them to provide two or more verification factors so they can gain access to a resource. New York will provide hardware and/or software tokens and professional services that eligible entities can use to implement MFA in their technology environments;

            2. Cybersecurity Certification Scholarship: New Yorkwill provide scholarships for select employees from eligible entities who currently have roles or responsibilities related to information technology, information security, cybersecurity, data privacy, and/or data security to achieve an industry-recognized cybersecurity certification; and

            3. Cybersecurity Awareness Training: New York will provide an online cybersecurity awareness training for eligible entities for their employees.

Eligible entities can indicate their interest to participate in one or more of the shared services offerings by completing the SLCGP Interest Form. Responses to this form will help the state appropriately plan to address statewide need utilizing FY2022 funding in Year 1 of the program. A formal application process will commence later this year. Application information will be made available on the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Grant Programs webpage.

 

New York State Chief Cyber Officer Colin Ahern said, “New York is continuing to take decisive action to bolster cybersecurity statewide. Under Governor Hochul's leadership, and through our partnership with President Biden and Congress, New York is investing in a safer and more resilient cyber future for our communities.”

 

New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said, "The threat posed by cyber-attacks continues to grow each year, making it critical we ensure our local partners have access to the cyber security services necessary to keep data and critical infrastructure safe. By utilizing a shared service model, we are making it easier for local governments to obtain key products that are essential in helping keep our communities safe from cyber criminals.”

 

Representative Jerry Nadler said, “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver. Today’s announcement of the New York Cybersecurity Grant Plan will reduce cyber risk and strengthen cyber defense across our state—helping keep New Yorkers’ information protected and secure.”

 

Representative Grace Meng said, “As technology continues to evolve, the number of cyber threats to systems used by state and local governments each day will only increase. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I helped to pass, we are making historic funding available to ensure that government entities across the state have the technology and training they need to secure and protect sensitive information that employees work with each day. Modernizing the systems that state and local governments utilize is long-overdue and as New York’s representative on the Regional Leadership Council – which works to promote and implement legislation signed into law by President Biden – I am happy to see federal funding supporting initiatives that will help them adapt to growing cybersecurity risks.”

 

Representative Adriano Espaillat said, “With our increased reliance on computer systems and the growing safety threat that AI presents, it is imperative that we take precautions to protect sensitive information held by our state and local governments. I commend Governor Hochul for taking the necessary steps to ensure New York is protected from dangerous cyber threats, and I encourage all eligible entities to participate in New York’s Cybersecurity Grant Plan to ensure they are prepared to prevent and combat cybersecurity attacks today and in the future.”

 

Representative Joe Morelle said, “As our digital landscape continues to evolve and change, it’s critical we continue taking the actions necessary to protect people, organizations, and governments from online threats. By establishing the New York State Cybersecurity Grant Plan using funding I helped secure in Washington, Governor Hochul is helping keep our state safe from cybersecurity threats and ensuring we remain at the forefront of these technologies for decades to come. I look forward to more opportunities to collaborate with state and local partners to bolster cybersecurity and support our local governments.”

 

Representative Andrew Garbarino said, “Securing our cyber landscape across the Nation starts with risk mitigation at the local level. In an increasingly interconnected world, every touchpoint is vulnerable with the potential for debilitating and cascading impacts across critical infrastructure sectors. That’s why I helped introduce the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act last Congress to establish this grant program. I’m pleased to see the State rolling out this funding to help communities in New York improve their overall cybersecurity posture. Every organization, big and small, should act as though they will be the next victim of a cyberattack and prepare accordingly. Leveraging the many resources from CISA for smart investments in risk mitigation is an important first step.”

 

Representative Nicole Malliotakis said, “In today’s technological age, it’s critically important for private and public sector entities to be educated, vigilant and prepared against cyber security threats. I’m proud to have voted to secure this critical infrastructure funding to help our community build its cyber resiliency to prevent breaches in privacy, attacks against infrastructure and interruptions to services.”

 

Representative Ritchie Torres said, “The Cybersecurity Grant Plan underscores New York's commitment to bolstering cyber defenses in local governments. This plan, backed by nearly $6 million in federal funding, will enable us to provide essential tools, resources, and training to our public sector entities, ensuring they have the necessary defenses against evolving threats. Together, we can build a stronger and more secure New York for all.”

 

The release of New York’s Cybersecurity Grant Plan is the latest step taken by Governor Hochul to strengthen the state’s cyber defenses and ensure the state and its local partners are prepared as digital threats continue to increase.

 

In August 2023, Governor Hochul released the first-ever New York State Cybersecurity Strategy that set forth an approach to cybersecurity and resilience based on the principles of unification, resilience, and preparedness. The Cybersecurity Strategy’s five pillars –Operate, Collaborate, Regulate, Communicate, and Grow– informed the development of the Grant Plan and are reflected throughout. As an administrative requirement of the SLCGP, the Grant Plan not only represents another facet of New York State’s extensive portfolio of cybersecurity measures that builds cybersecurity maturity among our critical institutions, but it is also an iterative effort designed to respond to the shifting needs of our state.

 

Under Governor Hochul's leadership, New York also launched a nation-leading program to provide cybersecurity services to county and local government entities, covering more than 76,000 government-owned computers across the state, and expanded the state’s law enforcement cyber capabilities by growing the Computer Crimes Unit, Cyber Analysis Unit, and Internet Crimes Against Children Center at the New York State Police. In 2024, Governor Hochul is expanding the Shared Services Program by extending eligibility for the endpoint detection and response shared service and adding an additional capability, attack surface management, to the Shared Services Program. To further protect New York's critical infrastructure, Governor Hochul has also proposed new hospital cybersecurity regulations and signed landmark legislation to protect New York's energy grid from cyberattacks. As cyber threats rapidly evolve, New York remains at the cutting edge of cybersecurity policy and continues to strengthen defenses across the public and private sectors.

Governmental function immunity

Governmental immunity, sometimes referred to as sovereign immunity, is based on the theory that "government" is an entity immune from being held responsible for its actions or inactions that cause harm, provided the harm was caused while the entity, or its agent, was performing its governmental functions.

In this action presented to the Court of Claims Claimant alleged that he was erroneously listed on New York State's public sex offender registry website after his cousin assumed his name and birth date when registering as a sex offender.*

Claimant asked  the Court of Claims of the State of New York grant his motion for summary judgment to resolve the issue but his motion was denied. In contrast the State's motion for summary judgment dismissing Claimant's action was granted by the Court of Claims.

Claimant appealed but the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the Court of Claims' rulings. The court opined that Claimant's defamation claim was properly dismissed as barred by "governmental function immunity".

In the words of the Appellate Division: 

"Claimant's defamation claim was properly dismissed as barred by governmental function immunity (see generally McLean v City of NY, 12 NY3d 194, 199 [2009]). Even if the alleged misconduct was ministerial and not discretionary in nature, [Claimant] has failed to show a special duty (see id. at 199, 202-203; Hephzibah v City of New York, 124 AD3d 442, 443 [1st Dept 2015], lv denied 26 NY3d 903 [2015]). Correction Law §168-r(1) does not create a private right of action on behalf of [Claimant] because he is not within the class of persons it is intended to protect. Indeed, [Claimant] admits that the misconduct at issue did not reflect any discretionary decision-making, which is the subject of the immunity waiver at Correction Law §168-r(1)."

* Although the error was corrected, Claimant's name continues to be listed as an alias of his cousin. 

Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.