The Los Angeles Cyber Lab has just been created by officials in the city.  The idea is to bolster the city’s cyber security by actively spreading data that the government receives – at the Integrated Security Operations Center – (to help their cyber security) to local businesses.  For America, this work is unprecedented.

A joint private-public venture between Cisco and the City of LA (with an advisory board featuring top companies such as Amazon and Microsoft) the aim of the Cyber Lab is to facilitate operations for local companies.  According to LA City’s Chief Information Officer, Ted Ross:

“Taking the resources that the city of Los Angeles is already paying for to protect ourselves, and making them available at no cost to L.A. businesses, it just seems like the right thing to do.  If we can help small-, medium- and large-sized businesses protect themselves against cybercriminals, then I think we’re really helping move the needle, and I think our constituents are getting even more out of their government.”

The three main parts of the initiative can be categorized as follows: cybereducation, threat intelligence and the provision of an innovation incubator (for local businesses to try out the security products and services prior to purchase).