Introduction Government agencies at the national, state and local levels are being cyberattacked at levels never before seen. The number of attacks almost doubled from the second half of 2021 to the same period in 2022, with 56 known attacks in the 3rd quarter alone – and most likely, many more unknown. The public sector accounted for almost 20% of all reported attacks in 2021 – 50% more than financial institutions and second only to the industrial sector. In almost three-fourths of ransomware attacks on state and local governments, threat actors succeeded in encrypting data, resulting in disruption to the many essential services that governments provide.

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