The Top Four Security Threats Facing Local Governments Today

Cyber threats targeting governments remain a serious concern. In 2024 alone, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 859,532 complaints, continuing a five-year trend of high-volume reporting. This comes as no surprise to the thousands of government IT leaders in security services who continually feel the pressure of evolving security risks from cyber-extortionists, malware advancements, and hacktivist groups. Ransomware attacks, data breaches, and phishing attempts are prevalent security realities for communities of every size and scale.

Cybersecurity is made even more complex by the fact that attackers are constantly looking for new and malicious ways to break into systems and steal data for extortion or financial gain. What follows are the greatest threats to security local governments face today—some new, some perpetual—as well as recommended best practices for mitigating such risks.

Unintentional Human Error

Human error accounts for more than 80% of cyberattacks, according to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Common mistakes—like weak or reused passwords, clicking on phishing links, or ignoring security protocols—can lead to serious breaches, including the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information or intentional sabotage. Today’s attackers increasingly bypass traditional defenses not by “breaking in,” but by “logging in” with stolen, guessed, or phished credentials. Once inside, they can move undetected, appearing as legitimate users. Recurring staff training on policies and expectations for the safe transmission of data and the use of interconnected systems can mitigate such risks.

Malware

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has identified malware threats as a top concern for critical infrastructure, with attackers deploying sophisticated tools to infiltrate networks, extract sensitive data, and disrupt operations across sectors. According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), several U.S. states experienced targeted cyber incidents against critical infrastructure systems—including water utilities, healthcare networks, and food supply chains. These attacks, often carried out by nation-state-backed threat groups, highlight vulnerabilities in industrial control systems and the urgent need for stronger cybersecurity measures. States recently impacted include:

• Texas – Water utilities
• Pennsylvania – Food sector systems
• West Virginia – Water utilities
• Indiana – Wastewater treatment systems
• Minnesota – Municipal water systems
• California – Ports and food supply chains
• Illinois – Water utility systems
• Ohio – Water utilities
• Georgia – Water utilities
• New Mexico – Healthcare and food systems
• Colorado – Healthcare and food systems

These malicious software infiltrations can disrupt critical government operations, resulting in significant financial losses ranging from hundreds to millions of dollars. As cybercriminals infiltrate the government’s network infrastructure, they can seize control, paralyzing essential services and leaving residents without crucial support.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack leverages numerous compromised computer systems as sources of attack traffic. These compromised devices encompass traditional computers and other network-connected resources like Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Such attacks can overwhelm government websites, making critical services inaccessible to residents, resulting in economic and social impacts as well as reputational damage.

Local governments can fortify their defenses against DDoS attacks by implementing robust traffic filtering and mitigation solutions. Further, by leveraging robust DDoS mitigation services or appliances, they can identify and filter out malicious traffic, allowing legitimate requests to reach their servers or network resources. These systems can detect anomalies in incoming traffic patterns and divert or absorb the excess traffic generated by an attack. By investing in such protective measures, local governments can maintain the availability of their digital services during a DDoS attack, ensuring uninterrupted access for residents and stakeholders.

New Attack Vectors Opening Up from Artificial Intelligence Systems

Unscrupulous users can leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for malicious action. Hackers can employ AI algorithms to design and execute more sophisticated and evasive malware. AI-driven malware adapts to security measures, making it harder to detect and mitigate.

Cybercriminals can also use AI to launch automated and highly targeted attacks at scale. For instance, hackers can use AI tools to create convincing phishing emails or launch credential-stuffing attacks to gain unauthorized access to government systems. In the past, phishing emails were easier to spot due to obvious typos, grammatical errors, or suspicious formatting issues. Today, AI-driven phishing campaigns make bad actors far more advanced—often appearing to come from trusted colleagues, managers, or even government officials—making them significantly harder to recognize.

Generative AI can also be used for misinformation and disinformation campaigns. AI-generated deepfake videos and audio can be used to impersonate government officials or spread false information, leading to reputational damage while sowing confusion among the public.

To mitigate these risks, it is vital to ensure that IT leaders in local governments leverage AI-driven threat detection systems that can analyze vast amounts of data in real time to identify unusual patterns and behaviors indicative of a cyberattack. As with all systems, they should keep AI systems and software up to date with security patches, as hackers often target vulnerabilities in outdated software. Finally, government IT leaders should add an incident response plan to their business continuity and crisis response model in the event that AI tools are used in an attack.

Securing the Future of Local Government

Cyber threats will continue to evolve and increase over time, requiring local government leaders to be vigilant in continuously monitoring and responding to risk factors that threaten their infrastructure.

The best protections start with education and partnerships with reputable vendors and system providers. By investing in cybersecurity education, local governments can empower their workforce to become a crucial line of defense against malware and other cyber threats. Local governments should also invest in an effective security program that supports best-of-breed frameworks, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF).

How CivicPlus Protects Resident and Government Security

At CivicPlus®, we understand the critical role of security compliance in safeguarding our public sector customers. By leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS), we offer high-quality, scalable, and resilient protections to mitigate the risk of cyber threats for local governments—safeguarding, fortifying, and monitoring their data, Municipal Websites, and integrated systems. We are proud to be the number one compliance leader in social archiving. To further safeguard our customers’ data, we maintain 99.9% uptime of our solutions and monitor all our customer websites 24/7/365.

CivicPlus® offers robust web hosting and security solutions designed specifically for local governments. With advanced threat detection, real-time monitoring, and disaster recovery capabilities, CivicPlus helps municipalities safeguard their digital presence against evolving cyber threats. Our hosting infrastructure delivers reliable performance—even during peak traffic—and supports compliance with privacy regulations like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Whether you’re looking to protect sensitive data, maintain uptime, or build resident trust, CivicPlus provides solutions to meet your needs.

Learn more by downloading the Municipal Websites Hosting and Security Fact Sheet.