Cybersecurity is more critical than ever, as criminal activity is at an all-time high. With phishing, identity theft and data breaches happening at alarming rates, it is imperative that strong protections remain in place to keep bad actors away.
In order to better protect its citizens and bring peace of mind for the public, businesses and tribal nations, the State of Arizona has chosen Tanium to provide cybersecurity services and support. Tanium provides converged endpoint management (XEM), including a single pane of glass perspective to identify and prioritize all vulnerabilities. This helps reduce a business’s attack surface and provides access to real-time asset visibility, as well as the ability to patch at scale.
“In cybersecurity, we’re expected to hold off the Russian military, as well as the Chinese, the North Koreans, the Iranians, you name it,” said Tim Roemer, CISO for the State of Arizona and director of AZDOHS. “Cybersecurity is homeland security, and I can’t protect 7.5 million Arizonans’ data from an attacker I don’t know about.:
Now, with a new, state-of-the-art cybersecurity solution from Tanium and supported by AWS, AZDOHS is able to better share key information in real time, creating a stronger security posture and enabling the state to better protect its residents and their data.
“I’m stronger as a CISO because I know what other people are seeing, and locals are better protecting themselves from attacks we’re seeing at the state level,” Roemer added.
The partnership effort is a whole-state approach that is focused on providing coordination and standardization of governance, implementation and validation for security efforts. With Tanium, the State was able to patch more than 326,000 vulnerabilities in less than 72 hours – more than it had been able to patch in the previous six months.
“Arizona prioritizes a 21st-century economy and workforce,” said Megan Fitzgerald, public safety and cybersecurity advisor to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. “State-wide cybersecurity is key to achieving our goals. Best practices such as this are critical to enable effective commerce and innovation, while protecting Arizona families and finances from getting into the wrong hands.”
This whole-of-state approach will also help lead the way for other states to evaluate, select, procure, and execute similar initiatives. Implementing effective cybersecurity at the state level helps the entire state close security gaps and develop a more comprehensive cyber strategy.
Edited by
Erik Linask
