Cybersecurity Program - Driving Innovation in an Evolving Environment

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

As the information technology environment continues to evolve, so too does the threat of cyber-attacks within government infrastructure. Orange County continues to be a leader in cybersecurity amongst California counties due to strategies that focus on resiliency, innovative policies and proactive education. OC Information Technology (OCIT) strives to deliver quality services to County customers. A vital component of that objective is to ensure that business operations are not disrupted by cybersecurity threats. The Enterprise Security team has a mission of embracing innovation to integrate cybersecurity into the fabric of how people live and work while defending County networks, systems and data from deliberate or accidental harm. Over the last year, they have developed an extensive cybersecurity environment, where investments in secure and innovative policies and programs help safeguard data. The team has implemented a vision that goes beyond the information technology setting; their culture embraces the critical nature of resiliency and deterrence as a best practice. Efforts to strengthen the County’s resiliency has been extremely successful; they include centralizing cyber barriers, conducting adhoc penetration testing, the establishment of a Countywide Cybersecurity operations center, and the formalization of the County’s leadership in a southern California government security consortium. Additionally, the team has welcomed external and third party assessments to help fortify the core environment, such as local municipalities, private sector businesses and the state and federal government.