Public Sector Cybersecurity: Preparing an Incident Response Plan for State and Local Governments
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Cybersecurity is a top priority for state and local governments. An effective strategy incorporates practices for preventing cyber attacks — training, multi-factor authentication, firewalls, updating software, and backing up data. However, it should also focus on what to do should a cyber attack occur; professional cyber criminals have found their way through even the most thorough protections, emphasizing the need for a robust incident response plan (IRP).
Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and organizations within the public sector are working hard to keep up. Our team remains ahead of the latest advancements in tech and AI to ensure our clients in the public sector are prepared and confident for a future built on intelligent and innovative technologies. Reach out to our experts to explore how your agency can benefit from our trusted and scalable services.
In this article, we will navigate through the factors of an incident response plan: what it is, why it is important, and what to focus on when preparing one within state and local governments. In addition, explore a real case of a local government that was able to recover from a cyberattack due to previous preparations.
What is an Incident Response Plan?
The definition of an IRP lies in its name: an organization’s response plan to a cyber incident. It is a thorough, documented plan outlining what should happen if a breach or other form of attack is detected and what will occur in order to respond to and recover from it. IRPs exist to minimize the damage and disruption of cyber attacks to ensure operations continue running smoothly and any affected data is recovered safely.
Why is an IRP Important for State and Local Governments?
State and local governments manage and store data from thousands to millions of residents and businesses. Not only is it crucial government information that must be protected, but that of those who utilize public services to assist them, their families, and their communities. Should a cyber attack occur, ensuring that data, operations, and finances are secure and recoverable is a top focus.
With an effective IRP, government agencies have a plan outlining how to swiftly evaluate the situation, communicate the issue to relevant personnel, coordinate a response, and move forward with response and recovery efforts. As more and more public services incorporate not only the internet, but additional advanced and intelligent technologies, effective cybersecurity practices and response plans are highly necessary to retain trust and smooth operations.
Preparing an IRP for State and Local Governments
Government agencies and other public sector organizations should always be prepared for a cyber incident. Cyber attacks should be treated as a matter of when they will happen, not if they will happen. Implementing an effective IRP will help government leadership and employees respond efficiently to breaches and data leaks, and ensure that public operations continue with minimal disruption.
Key highlights for preparing an IRP from CISA.gov include:
Training staff on recognizing cybersecurity incidents and informing them on your organizations IRP
Connecting with an attorney and local law enforcement to understand how to proceed forward should an incident occur
Making sure any key stakeholders are informed of the plan and assign important roles to employees that they will conduct during an incident
Conducting an exercise to demonstrate the plan in action
Important factors to consider are backing up all of your company data to ensure it will not be lost if a breach occurs, and assigning an incident response team to lead the charge during cybersecurity incidents. These assignees typically exist in various departments and handle other cybersecurity measures within the organization.
Guidance from this team leads to the identification of the threat, containing the threat so that it affects minimal systems and data, removing the threat as quickly as possible, and recovering and restoring what was lost or disrupted.
Staying organized and efficient is key, so having a set prepared plan beforehand is the best way to respond and recover with minimal damage and disruption.
St. Paul, Minnesota Shares Ransomware Recovery Story
In the summer of 2025, St. Paul, Minnesota was a victim of a ransomware attack that disrupted city systems. The response effort was a collaboration of teams, including Minnesota Information Technology Services (MNIT), federal and state investigators, private-sector cybersecurity specialists, and the Minnesota National Guard.
The IT team at St. Pauls’ water utility first identified the threat, and the city began to shut down portions of the network, including internal networks, online payments, and public WiFi. The attacker utilized double extortion to extract the data and hold it for ransom. Due to the fact that the city creates backups every night of their data, they decided to not give in to paying the ransom.
The city invested greatly into preparations for cybersecurity attacks allowing them to ensure emergency services remained uninterrupted and their response plan was as efficient as it could be. Payment systems and data storage were able to be restored within a few weeks, and the rest within several months with assistance from the National Guards’ cyber unit.
St. Paul had a citywide password reset and device security check, allowing city employees to be back online within a few days. These actions were shared by the city in an effort to encourage other governments to prepare and respond in an organized and efficient manner to protect crucial systems and data.
Effective cybersecurity measures for state and local governments are critical. They should remain a top priority in an increasingly digital world, especially as intelligent technology enables hackers to build more sophisticated attacks across a larger number of surfaces.
Reach out to our team at info@sednacg.com to learn more about how we can prepare state and local government agencies with the cyber defenses they need to protect their systems with confidence.
“A breach alone is not a disaster, but mishandling it is.”
– Serene Davis, Global Head of Cyber, QBE Insurance
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