Public-Safety LMR Operators Need to 'Wake Up' to Cybersecurity Issues

MCP’s Nick Falgiatore, Manager of Wireless Technologies, is issuing a stark warning to the public-safety community: cybersecurity risks within land-mobile-radio (LMR) systems can no longer be ignored. During a powerful session at IWCE 2025, as reported by Donny Jackson of Urgent Communications, Falgiatore dismantled the long-standing myth that LMR networks are inherently secure because they’re closed systems. With the increasing reliance on IP-based infrastructure, he explained, these critical voice-centric networks are now just as exposed to ransomware and cyberattacks as any modern IT system.

Falgiatore shared real-world examples of dangerous gaps in current LMR cybersecurity practices, including remote vendor access with shared logins, minimal oversight, and little to no response or recovery planning. He emphasized a troubling lack of cybersecurity awareness among many system managers—professionals who may excel at maintaining radios but lack the background in IT and cybersecurity needed to defend their systems from global threats.

Click here to read why Falgiatore says the industry must act now to prevent devastating outages, what’s at stake, and how public-safety agencies can better protect their networks.