Michigan Cybersecurity Efforts Under New Leadership
Laura Clark has been named the state’s permanent chief security officer, after holding the position in an interim capacity since last summer. She replaces Chris DeRusha, who worked on the Biden campaign and is now the federal CISO. Shutterstock
Laura Clark was recently named chief security officer (CSO) for Michigan and director of the Department of Technology, Management and Budget Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection on Jan. 25, according to a recent state announcement.
Clark brings more than 20 years of experience working in state government and has served in several positions throughout DTMB. She’s led several IT grant programs supporting local, state and federal stakeholders, and also represents the state at the national level as a cybersecurity advocate and through the National Governors Association and National Association of State Chief Information Officers.
DTMB
Michigan launches free app to protect mobile devices from threats
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LANSING, Mich. The state of Michigan is now providing residents access to a free mobile application that can detect threats to their mobile devices. The Michigan Secure app alerts an individual of suspicious activity on their mobile device, allowing them to interact with the digital world with greater confidence.
“Our reliance on mobile devices has been met with a surge in activity by cybercriminals looking to access those devices to steal our personal information, and possibly much worse,” said DTMB Director and State Chief Information Officer Brom Stibitz. “The Michigan Secure app is a huge step towards protecting Michiganders from these criminals and giving us all some peace of mind as we use our phones and tablets.”
The reason Michigan’s website for unemployment payments crashed Monday: too many users.
That conclusion was announced after analysis of the computer glitch by the Department of Management and Budget. This marks at least the second time since the COVID pandemic struck that state computers were overwhelmed by workers seeking benefits.
Trish Pellerito of Westland said the frustration she felt Monday was familiar among unemployed workers.
“Back in March and April when everything shut down and a bunch of us lost jobs, the UIA was understaffed and overwhelmed,” she said, referring to the Unemployment Insurance Agency.
“Fast forward,” Pellerito said, “and the system is once more overwhelmed.”
Instead of being allowed to reactivate accounts or certify that their layoffs continue, workers were met with a blank screen as they tried to navigate from the Unemployment Insurance Agency system into the system known as MILogin, run by the Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB).
“MiLogin is experiencing slowness today causing many users the inability to connect,” said Caleb Buhs, spokesperson for the DTMB.
The issue started Monday morning, and by 5:30 p.m. no cause had been identified. Also undetermined was when it will be fixed or how many workers were shut out of the system.
“Our team is fully engaged to identify and resolve the problem,” Buhs said. “Once the cause is known, we will be able to estimate a timeline for returning service to normal.”
Share February 02, 2021, 8:58 AM State legislators and a Livingston County attorney object to use of an encryption app on the state-issued phones of at least 18 Michigan State Police officers and civilians. In his second article on the practice of sending hidden messages, Paul Egan of the Detroit Free Press reports Tuesday: Lawmakers from both parties are calling for changes to state law and/or policy after the Free Press revealed that top Michigan State Police officials have downloaded an app onto their state-issued phones that can put their text messages out of reach of the Michigan Freedom of Information Act and discovery requests in civil lawsuits.