Columbia Borough Manager Mark Stivers testified Wednesday to state Senators on the Local Government and Communications and Technology committees, arguing local governments need more help from the state to secure their data storage systems.
“The amount of money we spend on lock systems is shocking. We have cameras throughout our borough, surrounding our building, looking at our parking lots,” Stivers said. “How do we keep safe the information that comes into our office on a daily basis?”
Officials said during the hearing that cyberattacks most often come in the form of phishing emails, where malicious actors pretend to be a well-known source, such as a boss, family member or bank, to scam the victim.
Stivers, who spoke on behalf of the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, urged senators to create a statewide system where municipalities can “tap into technical expertise” that will help educate their employees on how to defend themselves from risks online.
He said Columbia Borough has the funds to bring in outside specialists to help secure the data it collects, but many areas aren’t so lucky. “It doesn’t mean they’re less vulnerable, doesn’t mean that the attack can be any more severe, (it) just means they may not have the resources.”
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