BEND, Oregon (KTVZ) — The City of Bend is taking proactive measures to protect employee and citizen data, including hiring its first Information Security Officer.
Adam Young recently joined the role after serving as the city’s Office 365 administrator for five years.
Young is currently responsible for maintaining the city’s cybersecurity program to detect, prevent, and respond to threats to both employees and the public.
Young’s boss, Chief Innovation Officer Stephanie Vetteridge, said cyberattacks are a daily occurrence in many cities, businesses and schools, which motivated the city to create the new role. They can be incredibly destructive.
“As an organization, we wanted to make sure we were doing everything we could to keep our systems and data safe,” Betteridge said.
Young explained that everyone could be vulnerable to one of these cyberattacks, whether they live in a big city or a city similar in size to Bend.
“These threats are coming everywhere, especially small businesses and small cities and counties because threat actors are looking to attack people who may not have mature security programs. said Mr. Young.
There are many simple ways to keep your personal information safe, like locking your credit report or using a password manager. Also, you should avoid clicking on suspicious links or notifications.