Addressing the Ransomware Threat to Emergency Communications

Ransomware attacks hit a new target every 14 seconds - shutting down digital operations, stealing information, and exploiting businesses, essential services, and individuals. In recent years, ransomware incidents have become increasingly prevalent among state, local, tribal, and territorial government entities and against national critical infrastructure to include emergency communications. Disruptions to public safety operations directly and negatively impact the health and safety of the communities they serve. Despite this increasingly frequent threat, the SAFECOM Nationwide Survey shows only 20 percent of public safety organizations have cybersecurity incident response plans, policies, and capabilities in place, making them more vulnerable to an attack.

This webinar highlights the risk ransomware attacks pose to emergency communications and actions within the National Emergency Communications Plan that organizations can take to protect against, respond to, and recover from this threat. In addition, participants will hear a real-world example of a ransomware attack and the lessons learned from that experience.

During this webinar, participants can expect to learn about:​​​

• What ransomware is and how to protect emergency communications systems
• What to do if a mission-critical system is attacked by ransomware
• Resources and actions to prepare for and recover from ransomware attacks

Presented in partnership with:

• CISA Cybersecurity Division
• City of Tulsa Oklahoma