BIRMINGHAM, AlabamaWBRC) – The city of Birmingham is strengthening its cybersecurity after a cyberattack earlier this year disrupted several systems.

City councilors passed a resolution Tuesday morning to accept state and local grants to determine the city’s level of cybersecurity preparedness, identify areas for improvement and secure the resources needed to strengthen city ​​systems.

The funding request amounts to nearly $2 million, with a 20% match required from the city.

City Councilor Valerie Abbott says you can never have too much protection against these cybercriminals.

“Look at your computer at home,” she says. “You know, you’re always afraid that someone will get involved. You won’t know they’re there. Well, someone broke into ours and we know they were there, but how do you stop people from coming after you in the future? So that’s the whole point of this and we’ll be working on it forever.

Abbott goes on to say that these cybercriminals are always looking for a way to access systems and steal information and the only way to keep them at bay is to continue to improve security.

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