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Missouri offices honored with prestigious CSO50 Award for cybersecurity program

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Three Missouri entities are being recognized by IDG’s CSO with a 2017 CSO50 Award.

Missouri’s Office of Administration, Information Technology Services Division (ITSD) and Office of Cyber Security were chosen for their efforts on the of Cybersecurity’s “Using Public Data to Alert Organizations of Vulnerabilities” program. The data alert program identifies vulnerable, high-risk connected systems belonging to various organizations across the state and contacts the owners to warn them.

“I am tremendously proud of our team’s efforts and their well-deserved recognition as a 2017 CSO50 honoree,” said Office of Administration Commissioner Doug Nelson. “Under Governor Nixon’s leadership, we have made critical infrastructure and online accessibility to life-sustaining services a key priority. The CSO50 award is another example of how the State of Missouri continues to be recognized as a national leader in cybersecurity best practices.”

“In today’s cybersecurity climate, we are all under a constant threat of attack,” Missouri Chief Information Security Officer Mike Roling said. “This program has enabled us to leverage public data across a variety of industries in a way that had not been done before to quickly minimize risks and better safeguard IT systems and data.”

Missouri’s teams were among 50 organizations that were chosen from a highly-competitive field for thought leadership and creating outstanding business value. The CSO50 Awards are scored according to a uniform set of criteria by a panel of judges comprised of security leaders, industry experts, and academics.

“The stakes have never been higher when it comes to protecting an organization’s sensitive data from criminals and breaches,” Joan Goodchild, editor in chief of CSO, said. “Security leaders are expected to not only deliver protection, but also to drive business initiatives. Our annual CSO50 awards recognize security projects that enhance defense and also deliver ROI.”

Missouri has made strong efforts to move forward in the cybersecurity realm, most recently by hosting the first ever State of Missouri Governor’s Cybersecurity Summit. They also launched a statewide cybersecurity preparedness initiative to raise awareness and share best practices with local government, businesses, educational institutions and citizens.

And it’s not Missouri’s first award in the digital realm.

Missouri was one of just five states in the U.S. to receive an A grade from the Center for Digital Government in its 2016 Digital States Survey, in which the Center called Missouri’s public safety and emergency management programs the “crown jewel of the state’s efforts”.

In May of this year, the Office of Cyber Security’s Cybersecurity Portal was one of 50 to state IT and tech industry leaders honored with the “Innovation of the Year” award from StateScoop, the leading government IT media company.

ITSD was also honored in 2015 with the “Overall Excellence in Cyber Security Award” at the FireEye Defense Summit in Washington, D.C., being chosen as a model of cybersecurity awareness, infrastructure and practices.
The 2017 CSO50 awards will be presented at the CSO50 Conference + Awards in May of 2017.