BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Hacking and fraud has cost residents, businesses, and government agencies billions of dollars and compromised the information of people across the United States. The Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce brought local leaders to Washington, D.C., with a long list of pressing issues in the Brazos Valley. This trip started 20 years ago for him, but this year cybersecurity was a new topic.
Bryan Mayor Bobby Gutierrez was among the leaders who spoke with council members this week. He says everyone needs to pay attention to this topic.
“We need to be vigilant as a nation, but I think we need the support of businesses, we need the support of states, we need the support of cities to fight the cybersecurity crimes that actually exist. Now is the time,” he said. Said. “I feel like we go through some kind of cybersecurity training every week to stay well-informed about the latest new features they have announced for us. Losing valuable information and money.” We have a responsibility to avoid this.”
Scott Smith works as the Chief Information Security Officer for the City of Bryan. He confirms that we work every day to ensure residents' information does not leave our systems, and that we are working with local experts on how to prevent the latest cyber-attacks.
This includes establishing open lines of communication with Texas A&M, Brazos County, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and others. Smith says these partnerships are essential to his position, but the resources provided need to be widely available.
“These partnerships are really good. Half the battle is knowing if they're there right, and that's the challenge. It's about smaller cities and smaller entities, private and public, “I think it’s because we don’t have the staffing or the time to know that things like that are out there,” he said. “This is very important and very public. I mean, just look at the news almost every day that there's another massive breach of data.”
The Washington group focused on speaking with national leaders about expanding access to these partnerships, in addition to a number of locally pressing topics such as education and health care.
“I really want to thank the Chamber of Commerce for putting this together. I mean, it's so important as a Bryan-College Station community and as a business community that we stay aligned and stay in touch with our representatives here. Although they seem far away, we know them all personally and the Chamber will always keep the needs of Bryan, College Station, and Brazos Counties at the forefront. It does a great job in that regard.”
The Chamber of Commerce returns to town on Thursday.
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