After ransomware attacks on cities, IBM offers free cybersecurity training for local officials

Dozens of local government officials from across the country this fall will subject themselves to the heart-pounding, panic-inducing feeling of being the victim of a cyberattack. Willingly.

Cyberattack simulations are part of a series of free trainings specifically for municipal officials that IBM Security is hosting to give them a taste of what it’s like to be attacked, so they can prepare. It’s one of the latest ways local officials and cybersecurity companies are reacting to the persistent threat of cyberattacks that is the price of living in a digital world. Ransomware alone has hit more than 70 local and state governments this year.

IBM’s training is designed to feel real, using the types of attacks and malware that have targeted governments across the country, said John Kuhn, senior threat researcher for the IBM service that helps organizations respond to cyberattacks. Sitting at computers in a command center, trainees decide how to respond to initial attacks and their fallout and to deal with the consequences of their decisions.

"If you didn’t feel that bit of panic inside you, it wouldn’t be realistic,” he said.

It’s not yet clear which, if any, Philadelphia-area governments will participate in the trainings, which IBM announced last week.

Cyberattacks can target anyone but can have particular consequences for local governments, because if their systems are held hostage for a ransom, residents could be shut out of critical services. And many municipalities don’t have the resources to attract skilled IT staff to help guard against attacks. Cybersecurity experts recommend constantly training all staff and backing up files.

“Cities need to be looking at the root of the problem rather than dealing with threats such as ransomware as one-off situations,” Wendi Whitmore, vice president of X-Force threat intelligence at IBM Security, said in a statement announcing the trainings, held at its headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. “Taking preventative steps to strengthen cybersecurity in cities now, can help them prepare for, and protect against, issues in the future. These attacks have reached the point where governments need to place an importance on them and develop response plans, similar to how they handle state of emergencies.”

Cyberattacks are getting “more sophisticated and more deliberate,” Kuhn said. Governments, schools, and hospitals can be easier targets, as opposed to corporations with the money to spend on the latest safeguards.

Local officials will learn some best practices in cybersecurity and how to prevent and react to security breaches during one of three trainings at IBM’s Cyber Range. Since the facility opened in November 2016, a few thousand people working for banks, retailers, hospitals, and government have visited to test their reactions to mock cyberattacks. Groups of New York City employees have gone through the trainings, including law enforcement officers.

During mock attacks, IBM trainers give guidance and clues. Most of the trainings IBM hosts are free, spokesperson Kelly Kane said, except custom sessions.

The local government simulations will last several hours and are designed as team exercises with two to three people of the same municipality working together. Each of this fall’s three trainings — Oct. 22, Nov. 19, and Dec. 10 — are open to about 25 people.

Cybersecurity, Kuhn said, is "like a muscle you have to exercise.”