On the heels of the ransomware that had the City of Atlanta scrambling last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the launch of “NYC Secure,” a free mobile app that will alert New York City residents of suspicious activity detected on their smartphones.
According to the Mayor, “New Yorkers aren’t safe online. We can’t wait around for other levels of government to do something about it or the private sector…. It’s our job in government to make sure that people are safe online. It’s a new reality.”
NYC will spend $5 million a year for the tool, Quad9, which routes a user’s web traffic through its servers and identify and block malicious sites and email. The app is free to New Yorkers and will be overseen by the NYC Cyber Command, which leads NYC’s city wide cyber defense and incident response. It will be available this summer.
The mayor also announced new protections for the city’s public Wi-Fi networks. He claimsNew York is the first city in the world to provide such services to all residents and visitors, free of charge. Good for Mayor de Blasio for helping residents protect themselves online. We need all the help we can get.