What’s new or changing?
- The updated Cyber Security Guidelines – Local Government (the Guidelines) allow councils to assess their cyber security maturity and plan their maturity uplift.
- The Guidelines outline cyber security standards and controls recommended by Cyber Security NSW for NSW local government.
What will this mean for council?
- Councils can adopt the Guidelines or use them to form the basis of an internally developed cyber security policy.
- Adherence to the Guidelines is strongly recommended.
Key points
- Councils are increasingly dependent on digital technologies and are a target for state-based, criminal and activist threat actors.
- A cyber-attack or incident has a risk of major disruption to services and operations, with genuine risk to critical infrastructure and services.
- Strong cyber security enables the effective use of emerging technologies and ensures confidence in the services provided by NSW local governments.
- The Guidelines should form the basis of an internally developed cyber security policy for individual councils.
- Cyber Security NSW does not offer funding assistance for the implementation of the Guidelines or other cyber security maturity uplift.
Where to go for further information
- The Guidelines and relevant templates for council use are hosted on the Councils and Cyber Security NSW Microsoft Teams forum. To join the forum, contact community@cyber.nsw.gov.au.
- Cyber Security NSW offers various services to assist councils in boosting their cyber security capability. Contact info@cyber.nsw.gov.au for more information.
- For questions about the Guidelines, contact the Policy Development and Coordination Team at policy@cyber.nsw.gov.au.
- The Guidelines are available on the Office of Local Government website here.
Brett Whitworth
Deputy Secretary
Office of Local Government
