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Kewaunee County panel considers $25,000–$49,000 annual cybersecurity subscriptions after ransomware warnings
Summary
Staff presented two managed security options — CrowdStrike’s Falcon Complete and a Cisco solution — and recommended scheduling vendor demos before the committee decides whether to seek funding. Committee members raised questions about insurance, guarantees, and coverage of county servers.
A staff member presented cybersecurity options to the Kewaunee County Human Services Committee, saying the county should consider a managed, 24/7 service to detect and isolate ransomware and other threats.
The presenter told the committee, “Cybersecurity has has become the number 1 topic in all of IT,” and described vendors’ managed services that place a client on every machine and server to monitor activity and immediately isolate suspected ransomware infections. The staff member said the packet included two vendor examples and that CrowdStrike’s Falcon Complete offering would be about $25,000 per year while a comparable Cisco offering would be about $49,000 per year.
The nut graf: County staff emphasized that county systems move protected health information and personal identifying data between departments — including the sheriff’s office and human services — and argued the county should weigh the annual subscription cost against the financial and operational risk of a ransomware event.
Committee members asked for specifics on guarantees, insurance coverage and whether municipal partners would share costs. Paul (staff member) said insurance and post-incident recovery play a role but noted coverage is decided after an incident and “they’ll decide on us whether Insurance. ... They’ll pay for some recovery, but damage is done.” The presenter said CrowdStrike will not permit recording of its demo; Cisco would likely allow recording.
On insurance and ransom costs the presenter and committee cited past incidents in other jurisdictions, including references to a previously reported $1 million ransom paid by an entity discussed during the meeting. Committee members emphasized that no warranty guarantees recovery of data and that some recovery teams focus on restoring operations rather than returning all original data.
Committee direction: members asked staff to schedule vendor demos — including a CrowdStrike demonstration the presenter had already seen and an upcoming Cisco demo — and to present the demos to either this committee or the finance committee for further consideration. The presenter said vendor quotes would be refreshed if the committee chose to pursue procurement.
Ending: Committee members generally supported seeing the demos before any procurement decision. The presenter said the item would be presented as a possible action item next month so the committee could evaluate costs and vendor guarantees before recommending funding or contract action.
