November 1, 2018
ITS Honored for Excellence in Cybersecurity as part of the Inaugural NCSA Awards
Thursday, November 1, 2018
The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) today announced that it received the National Cybersecurity Alliance Cyber Secure Community Award. NCSA announced the first-ever awards to highlight organizations that exemplify excellence in cybersecurity and help everyone stay safer and more secure online.
The Cyber Secure Community Award was established by NCSA to honor work that promotes cybersecurity as a shared responsibility. NCSA recognized ITS with this award for its efforts to positively impact the community at large through its cyber security awareness and outreach programs.
Robert H. Samson, New York State Chief Information Officer, said, "I am thrilled that ITS was honored by the National Cybersecurity Alliance with the first ever Cyber Secure Community Award. Here in New York State, we are working diligently with our partners to create awareness about cybersecurity to help keep New Yorkers safe from cyber criminals. This award is a testament to the hard work of many people within ITS, especially those within the Chief Information Security Office. Under the leadership of Deborah Snyder, New York's Chief Information Security Officer, this talented team is dedicated to keeping New York's critical assets safe and delivering innovation that matters for all New Yorkers."
Deborah Snyder, New York State Chief Information Security Officer, said, "Thank you to the National Cyber Security Alliance for this award. For many years, New York State has been leading the way with our cybersecurity awareness and outreach programs to promote the importance of cybersecurity throughout the State. We have an amazing team at ITS and I'm grateful for their efforts to consistently find new and creative ways to help teach New Yorkers about safe online practices. As National Cybersecurity Awareness Month comes to an end, this award is a great reminder of the impact of our work."
Russ Schrader, Executive Director of NCSA, said, "It is very timely to present the NCSA Awards at the close of the 15th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. These awards recognize excellence in digital safety and the timing could not be more appropriate to honor those companies that have gone above and beyond the norm in helping to keep not only their workplaces but everyone safer and more secure. ITS has made tremendous investments, and we are thrilled to bring greater awareness and recognition to their commitment to cybersecurity."
ITS was honored with the Cyber Secure Community Award for the year-round programs it organizes to generate a high level of cybersecurity awareness by reminding every New Yorker and State employee that they have a responsibility to be cyber aware both at home and at work.
New York State proclaimed October 2018 as Cybersecurity Awareness Month in the Empire State. Cybersecurity Awareness Month is part of an annual national campaign to engage and educate the public about cyber security and provide tools and resources to stay safe online. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is observed each October and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and NCSA in cooperation with the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers.
NCSA is the nation's leading nonprofit, public-private partnership promoting cybersecurity and privacy education and awareness. NCSA works with a broad array of stakeholders in government, industry and civil society.
For more information on Cybersecurity Awareness Month, please visit https://its.ny.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month.
About ITS
The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) was created in 2012 to transform IT services in an effort to make New York State government work smarter for its citizens and enable the state to be accessible for businesses through the use of technology. ITS provides statewide IT strategic direction, directs IT policy and delivers centralized IT products and services that support the mission of the State. ITS operates data centers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support statewide mission-critical applications for over 50 Agencies, over 17 million citizen accounts, 120,000 employee accounts, 60,000 phones, 99,000 desktops and laptops, and 3,433 Virtual Desktop remote connections. ITS operates a secure network of over 1,600 miles of fiber to deliver telecommunications, Internet and Intranet services, enterprise email systems and support, IT training, networking, data storage and processing to State government entities in addition to developing new services in support of citizens, businesses and State Agencies.
For more information, visit https://its.ny.gov and follow us on Twitter @nysits.