Weymouth Awarded Cybersecurity Awareness Grant from the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Technology Services and Security

The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) awarded the Town of Weymouth a Cybersecurity Awareness grant. This competitive grant program will provide the Town and its employees with end-user cybersecurity training, assessment, and simulation tools. The training will be administered by EOTSS.  The goal of the program is to improve municipal cybersecurity across the Commonwealth and Weymouth looks forward to participating in this program and initiative alongside nearly 100 other municipalities and school districts.

“Every day municipalities are subject to increased risk of ransom-ware, phishing schemes, viruses, and other ever-evolving cybersecurity threats,” said Mayor Hedlund. “As a community connected in a digital age, it is imperative that we keep our training up to date so employees know what to look for and how to best protect data and information. This state grant funding allows us to invest in these exact types of programs.”  

The Baker-Polito Administration awarded 94 municipalities and public school districts $250,000 in total funding awards. This particular award will provide training for over 42,000 employees.

EOTSS is making an effort to provide resources to municipalities who are faced with ever-increasing threats to cyber security. The program will require the recipients to ensure the curriculum developed by EOTSS is implemented across the municipality. Training will utilize ProofPoint, which will send simulations of cyber threats, such as phishing emails, to employees. Employees will be educated on identifying these threats, what to look for in scams, and how to report/address the issue.

“Over the past five years the Town of Weymouth has taken many steps to harden our network against malicious software,” said Weymouth’s Chief Information Officer, Shawn Rothman. “Being awarded the Cyber Security Awareness Grant will allow us to harden the area of greatest risk facing companies today, human error.”

The Town has invested funds in building up the security of its hardware and networks. However, as noted, municipalities are being breached via other means and it often involves errors made by employees. The training will provide the end-users, town staff, with the training necessary to look out for scams and better protect against risk.

The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security was created in 2017 to serve as the lead information technology organization in the Executive Branch. In addition to enhancing cybersecurity of the Commonwealth, the department also will improve IT infrastructure, improve privacy safeguards, and better deliver services.