Small Budgets Cripple Cybersecurity Efforts of Local GovernmentsSmall Budgets Cripple Cybersecurity Efforts of Local Governments

Inadequate budgets are the largest obstacle for local government chief information officers in obtaining the highest level of cybersecurity for their organization, according to a survey released today by the International City/County Management Association.

According to 411 respondents in the Cybersecurity 2016 survey, 32% reported seeing an increase in cyberattacks to their organizations within the past 12 months. But despite this increase, more than half of the CIOs surveyed found steep obstacles still stood in their way of achieving the highest level of cybersecurity as possible.

Survey respondents pointed to these reasons as the barriers to obtaining high cybersecurity levels:

Although adequate funding was listed as the top need in achieving the highest level of cybersecurity for local governments, improved cybersecurity policies ranked as No. 2, followed by government employees having a better understanding of cybersecurity as No. 3, according to the survey.

Read more about the Cybersecurity 2016 survey here.