Small counties serious about cybersecurity should meet their state CIOs

But not all collaborative cybersecurity efforts need to come from mandates. Curtis said that while the semi-annual visits from state officials are helpful, his county benefits from participation in a program in which computer-science students at Western Washington University conduct security monitoring for five rural counties and cities. The program, known as the Public Infrastructure Security Collaboration and Exchange System, or PISCES, was launched last year by Michael Hamilton, a former chief information security officer for Seattle.