The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors was scheduled to vote today on whether to approve funding a phishing training simulator.
The training program, from KnowBe4, could cost $765,900. County Chief Executive Officer Sachi Hamai has recommended that the board approve the funding from the county's Information Technology Fund.
The cost would include a three-year subscription to the simulator and content under a Master Agreement, at $255,300 annually.
The program would fall under the board's Information Security Awareness Training policies.
"Employee awareness of threats to information and associated assets is essential in reducing cybersecurity risks, improving he identification of cyber threats to county information assets, and ensuring proper management of sensitive and confidential information," Hamai's recommendation reads.
The KnowBe4 program meets the requirements set out by the county's Chief Information Security Office and Information Security Steering Committee.
The program will allow the county to simulate phishing campaigns and includes training on requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), public health information and Personally Identifiable Information.
"Approval of the recommendation will provide up-to-date training content needed to inform county workforce members of best practices to protect county's information assets, data, and confidential information, as well as maintaining compliance with federal, state and county mandates," the recommendation concludes.
