Fattman Announces Cybersecurity Training for Municipal Employees
Mar 30, 2021 06:00AM ● By Pamela Johnson
Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Webster)
State Senator Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) announced that over 1,000 municipal employees in his district would receive cybersecurity training through the 2021 Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program.
“Over the past several years, schools and municipalities have become increasingly reliant on technology to aid in the workplace or classroom development,” said Senator Fattman. “This training has become even more necessary as society was forced to shift to virtual engagements last year. It is great to see our municipalities invest in cybersecurity awareness training. I will continue to support their endeavors to receive this grant in the future, so that we may have a safer, more secure, technological background.”
According to the application, the program is a one-year competitive grant program to support local government efforts to improve overall cybersecurity posture through comprehensive user training, evaluation, and threat simulation. Participating communities must demonstrate leadership buy-in and commitment to making staff available to successfully complete the program, and willingness to collaborate. The funding is used on a wide range of municipal staff, and it may be used to train school district personnel as well.
In the Worcester-Norfolk District, the following communities received funding: Bellingham, 50 employees (town only); Douglas, 280 employees (town and school); Dudley, 30 employees (town only); Milford, 250 employees (town only); Southbridge,120 employees (town only); Sutton, 280 employees (town only).
Funding for the training was provided through a grant program administered by the Office of Municipal and School Technology.
