House panel floats boosting cybersecurity aid to states

StateScoop: As ransomware incidents against state and local governments continue to pile up, officials would likely leap at increased federal assistance for their cybersecurity needs, witnesses at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing said Tuesday.

Cyberattacks can be costly to local governments, whether they must replace and rebuild compromised computer systems or pay off a ransom demand, as Riviera City, Florida, did last week when it forked over $600,000 to hackers who successfully infected the 35,000-person municipality with ransomware.

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