New York State Office of Information Technology Services

Scammers are leveraging AI to generate highly convincing emails, phone calls, voice recordings and even videos. They are cleverly designed to mimic trusted individuals and legitimate organizations. Use these tips to protect yourself from AI scams.

- Implement a unique safe word to verify requests.
- Be cautious of messages that demand immediate action or payment.
- Limit the amount of personal information you share online.
- Pay attention to unusual wording.

Learn More: https://its.ny.gov/news/understanding-ai-scams

ITS Supervising Attorney Max Heintz spoke with NASCIO about digital accessibility compliance in the public sector. As states prepare for upcoming Department of Justice compliance deadlines, Heintz highlights to a national audience the importance of a robust accessibility policy, being proactive with training and education, the vital role of service testers for digital tools, and involving legal departments early when complaints are made.

Download the full report: https://www.nascio.org/resource-center/resources/digital-accessibility-compliance-thoughts-from-a-public-sector-attorney/

Last month, we celebrated Global Accessibility Awareness Day on the Concourse at the Empire State Plaza in Albany. Members of the ITS Human-Centered Design Team were on-site to hand out digital accessibility resources, support disability simulators and demonstrate a native screen reader experience. Accessibility is vital to making critical services accessible for New Yorkers.

Learn more about accessibility: https://designsystem.ny.gov/foundations/accessibility/

Listen to a brand-new Firewall Chat, a short-form miniseries of the IT’S a Tech Podcast. On this episode, Michele Jones, the Deputy Commissioner for Technology for Agriculture & Markets, talks about the development and launch of the Beekeeper Program, sharing behind-the-scenes insight on the unexpected connection between bees and technology.

https://on.ny.gov/4utHqkV

ITS recognizes employees who reach a specific career milestone each month. This May, 24 ITS employees achieved career milestones of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 40 years of service. Next month, ITS will recognize employees who reached milestones in June!

It’s Pride Month and we’re spotlighting influential LGBTQIA+ technologists! Lynn Conway was an influential transgender activist, computer scientist and electrical engineer. Conway’s innovations in microchip design and computer architecture revolutionized the tech industry. In the 1960’s, she developed multiple-out-of-order dynamic instruction scheduling (DIS), which allows computer processors to execute instructions out of order, significantly boosting speed and performance. DIS is a foundational feature in almost all modern computers.

That’s a wrap on the 2026 NYS Cybersecurity Conference! Thank you to all our attendees, speakers, and supporters. Tell us your favorite part of this year’s conference in the comments! We’ll see everyone next year!

Day two of the NYS Cybersecurity Conference is about to begin! Attendees are ready and eager to hear from technology experts about the latest trends in cybersecurity.