Cybersecurity leaders across state governments are well aware that state and local entities are increasingly prime targets for cyber attackers. From ransomware groups disrupting state health systems to phishing campaigns aimed at state employees, the threats are escalating, and the financial and operational consequences are growing. Additionally, according to the 2023 K-12 Six year in review report, nearly 80 school districts (impacting over 2,000 individual schools) were hit by ransomware, leading to closures, lost instruction, as well as compromised student data. Despite this, many state agencies still overspend on disjointed, redundant cybersecurity tools that don’t deliver the integrated protections needed to match the speed and scale of attacks.
What needs to change, however, is how state IT leaders approach modernizing their defenses. Just like at the federal level, simply adding more tools doesn’t equate to stronger protection. Fragmented purchases drain limited resources, increase operational complexity, then slow down response time. The path forward lies in efficiency, integration, and smarter investment — made stronger through strategic public/private partnerships that empower government with private sector innovation.
A New Cyber Strategy for State IT
Siloed systems across state agencies (whether in public safety, health, education) can lead to duplicated efforts, slower response times, as well as inefficiencies in how taxpayer dollars are used. State CIOs and CISOs are now recognizing the importance of moving away from these fragmented approaches. Palo Alto Networks supports this shift by helping consolidate security operations into a unified, AI-powered platform – a model we’ve successfully implemented across the federal space and Fortune 100 enterprises alike.
But no agency should have to do this alone. Strategic collaboration with private cybersecurity providers brings needed expertise and threat intelligence that many state IT departments cannot source internally. Public and private partnerships enable scalable, sustainable security modernization, ensuring state agencies can adapt to threats while managing resources effectively.
Considerations for State IT Leaders to Modernize Successfully
- Cost Rationalization: Fewer tools mean lower licensing, maintenance and training costs.
- Simplified Operations: A unified security platform reduces administrative burden.
- Safely Leverage AI: Track and monitor AI usage for every employee.
- Faster Threat Response: AI-driven automation speeds up detection and mitigation.
- Improved Compliance: Centralized visibility enables continuous monitoring for reporting and compliance obligations.
By working closely with trusted industry partners, states can deploy holistic, platformized solutions that work seamlessly across agencies, reducing complexity while improving resilience. This platformization strategy allows state governments to reallocate budgets from wasteful duplication to proactive cyber defense.
AI-Powered Defense at Scale
At the center of this strategy is Precision AI®, an automated defense engine capable of identifying and triaging up to 9 million cyber threats per day. With many state IT teams understaffed or managing multiple responsibilities, AI and automation deliver critical support to reduce the operational burden and improve outcomes, dramatically improving key metrics, such as Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR).
In our own security operations center (SOC), MTTR is reduced to under one minute, just minutes after detection, which enables faster, more accurate response before threats escalate. These outcomes are the result of close collaboration between public institutions and private innovation. It’s exactly the kind of partnership needed to keep pace with today’s threat landscape.
Securing the Cloud as States Modernize
As more states embrace cloud-first strategies for everything, from financial systems to emergency services, cybersecurity must evolve in parallel. Our FedRAMP and GovRAMP High authorized Prisma® Cloud delivers comprehensive protection for multi-cloud and hybrid environments, providing end-to-end visibility from development to deployment.
Public and private partnerships are essential here. The pace of cloud innovation makes it difficult for state agencies to secure these environments alone. Working with trusted vendors helps ensure compliance, agility, built-in security, without adding complexity or risking visibility gaps.
Built for the Needs of State IT
At Palo Alto Networks, our public sector team works closely with state IT leaders to understand the nuances of each environment, from governance constraints to procurement processes and multi-agency coordination. We deliver tailored solutions that eliminate inefficiencies, reducing risk and improving service delivery across the entire state ecosystem. Our teams provide tangible, results-driven data to identify customer-specific key performance indicators (KPIs) and quantify projected impact based on case studies and industry benchmarks. These further help align Palo Alto Network solutions directly to C-Suite priorities.
By embracing a unified, AI-driven approach (and by leveraging the power of public and private partnerships) state governments can protect citizen data and optimize costs, building a more resilient digital future.
Secured in America. Built for Government.
Headquartered in California, Palo Alto Networks proudly celebrates two decades of cybersecurity innovation and leadership. Across the United States, we employ more than 8,800 people in 49 states with physical offices in California, New York, Texas and Virginia. Championing American production excellence, we assemble all of our hardware firewalls in the United States, with our primary assembly and fulfillment center located in Texas. With over $1.8 billion in annual R&D, Palo Alto Networks is driving continuous innovation to maintain American technological leadership and excellence.
Palo Alto Networks is ready to help your state IT organization modernize cybersecurity. Let’s build a safer, smarter future together.