Category Archives: local government

Local Government TREND. Hiring CIOs and CDOs

Chief Information Officers and Chief Data Officers are on the rise for local governments.

What does a Chief Data Officer do? In Cook County, IL the job description is:

  • “organizational governance and policy directives around data usage,”

  • ensuring proper accessibility standards for data

  • evidence-based decision making

  • innovative projects 

  • oversee a communications technology team

  •  holding a leadership position on a Data Governance Council charged with “applying the precepts…

Business Trend. Smart Cities + Energy Storage = Municipal Cloud Storage

The companies : Blink Charging & Israeli smart city developer Ya’acobi Brothers Group

The benefits of EV Charging via City Infrastructure:

  • Enable smart city infrastructure
  • Permits integration with wif-fi, cloud networks, cameras for city data management

Utility Dive | Blink eyes significant EV charging expansion via smart streetlights

Local TREND. Procurement Opportunity. Business Partner for Smart City Planning

 City: Kansas City, MO

What does its RFP want? 

  • Technology Partner to make it the smartest city in the country
  • The partnership will design & build:
    •  a “full integrated suite of sensors, networks and data and analytics platforms,”
    • built off its  current smart city network
    • 30-month construction period
    • develop a long-term strategic plan for the next 10 to 30 years

Gov Tech | Kansas City, Mo., Issues RFP for Smart City Partner 

Local TREND. Ransomeware Cost Increase in Atlanta.

Atlanta officials are asking for an additional $9.5 million to recover from a ransomeware attack.

What do I need to know about Atlanta’s ransomware attack?

  • Worst ransomware attack in US history
  • More than 1/3  of the city’s 424 software programs were offline, fully or partially
  • The $35 million budget for the technology department is not enough to recover 
  • The ransom was  $51,000 worth of bitcoin

Reuters | Atlanta officials reveal worsening effects of cyber attack 

LOCAL TREND. Is a ransomware attack subject to open records?

An Atlanta news station asked for public records related to Atlanta’s ransomware attack.

The city repsonse:  No. Not going to happen.

Why is the city denying the open records request? ongoing investigation, ongoing security concerns

What do freedom of information experts say? The Freedom of Information Act does allow for exemptions during open investigations

CBS 46 | Atlanta officials deny requests for records amid cyber attack

 

Local Procurement TREND. Cost Saving. Outsourcing Cybersecurity.

In lieu of hiring cyber security employees, local governments are using third party software and hardware to bolster cybersecurity. 

What short hand do I need to know for this technology?

  •  It is “machine learning and AI”
  • It  can detect cyber threats rapidly
  • it allows for large-scale behavioral detection

State Tech | Cities and Counties Turn to Machine Learning to Bolster Cybersecurity

5 Points. Texas Cyber Security Experts Tell Texas What to Do.

Which Texas cybersecurity experts signed this letter to the Texas Secretary of State?

  • Scott Aaronson, Professor, University of Texas at Austin
  • Chris Bronk, Assistant Professor, University of Houston
  • Alvaro Cardenas, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Dallas
  • Guofei Gu, Associate Professor, Texas A&M
  • Murat Kantarcioglu, Professor, University of Texas at Dallas
  • Jiang Ming, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington
  • Dan S. Wallach, Professor, Rice University
  • Brent…

Local TREND. Primary Election Hacked in the Iris State

Local May 2018 election that was hacked:  Knox County, Tennessee primary for mayor &  local races

What kind of hack was used?  A DDoS attack routed through 65 countries

Translation of the hack? A lot of computers from all over the world tried to access the web server for the election from 7pm to 10pm causing the election site to crash

Politico |  WHAT HAPPENED IN TENNESSEE: