North Dakota Cyber Attacks on the Rise

Those attacks aren't limited to just the state, as phishing attacks are also on the rise against small businesses in our region, including in rural areas.

FARGO, ND — Cyber attacks in North Dakota are on the rise according to the North Dakota Information Technology Department.

Attacks have rocketed to more than 15 million per month against the state.

Those attacks aren’t limited to just the state, as phishing attacks are also on the rise against small businesses in our region, including in rural areas.

I-T services say that the key to defeating those attacks starts with employee education.

That includes teaching your employees not to click on sketchy links in e-mails and how to avoid social engineering.

“Doing what we can to put the systems in place is one thing, but educating their staff to not click on those links is another. If we don’t take care of that human firewall, all the other technology doesn’t matter,” said Chris Buckingham, the CEO of MinnDak Computer Services in Fargo.

Buckingham says the cost of mitigating an attack after it’s happened can cost upwards of $28,000 or more.