IT director discusses East Baton Rouge Parish’s cyber security

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - October is Cyber Awareness month.

Director of Information Services Eric Romero says East Baton Rouge Parish takes a multi-faceted approach when it comes to keeping its security safe, but he admits there is always work to be done.

“It should not be just a month. It should be all year, every year. That is how important cyber security is, that is how real and constant threats are,” said Romero.

Louisiana faces daily uphill battles when it comes to cyber security.

“GOHSEF has established ESF-17. They handle threats and they are busy,” said Romero.

The state mandates annual cyber security training: however, officials with East Baton Rouge Parish require it every quarter.

“We are putting in new technologies in. We are training our employees, who are our first line of defense,” Romero said.

Around $4 million of the American Rescue Plan Act funds were allocated to cyber awareness, but Romero says the buck didn’t stop there.

“We also received another portion of general fund money to update old computers which are a threat because they can’t take newer security patches,” Romero explained.

EBR officials recognize their office has a target on its back because of personal information housed on their system but funding allows for daily system checks.

“We are monitoring third-person systems in-house. We are always getting notified. We do test from the outside to recognize and address our vulnerabilities,” he said.

He admits safety features put in place will never be enough.

Whether you are at home or at work, your guard should always be up.

“The bad guys, they are getting good. You can put something in place today but tomorrow there is a new threat,” Romero added.

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