Colorado builds internal firewalls to amp up cybersecurity

Colorado’s information security staff isn’t just working to build up barriers against cyberthreats — they’re also trying to protect against breaches that could inadvertently come from within.

Chief Information Security Officer Deborah Blyth said that even though her department is constantly trying to raise awareness about cybersecurity, “users are often clicking things that they shouldn’t.” When that happens, Blyth’s group is prepared.

“Not only are we firewalling traffic from the Internet, but we’re also firewalling agency to agency, giving us better capabilities internally as well,” Blyth told StateScoop at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ midyear conference in April. “Just because we allow traffic in from one agency doesn’t mean we need to allow it for all.”

The recent shift to those internal firewalls comes as Blyth and her team examines the state’s aging technology infrastructure. Instead of replacing Colorado’s infrastructure, Blyth is hoping to “amp up the game” for the state.

“As we have the opportunity to consolidate or replace technology, we’re really looking for best of breed technology that gets us further down the roadway to better security and better effective defense,” Blyth said.