Circulars

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