The State of Vermont, through the establishment of the Cybersecurity Advisory Council, will be leading an effort to understand how prepared municipalities and critical infrastructure operators are for a cybersecurity event. The Cybersecurity Advisory Council was created as part of Act 71 during the 2023 session and is charged with measuring the current cyber preparedness and developing a plan to improve areas of concern. The council has members from electric and natural gas utilities, water and wastewater operators, healthcare, public safety, the National Guard, and state information technology.
How will they measure cyber preparedness? The council has developed an anonymous survey that takes about 10 minutes to complete. The survey will not collect data that could put any organization at risk, and the data will only be used by the council to determine the next steps in developing a program. Summary information by sector may be used to help in justifying any new programs and potential funding requests. The survey will be open until June 15, 2024.
Ultimately, the council is looking to create a community of peers that can support each other, develop resources like training programs, create cybersecurity-centric events, and raise the level of cyber readiness so that Vermonters do not lose access to essential services due to a cyber event.
Participate in the 2024 Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Survey at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QDVDVKT
Learn more about the Cybersecurity Advisory Council at
https://digitalservices.vermont.gov/cybersecurity/cybersecurity-advisory-council.
For questions or more information please contact Shawn Nailor at Shawn.Nailor@Vermont.gov.