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Lee's Summit finance committee reviews purchase of new email security tool for staff and students
Summary
The Lee's Summit R-VII finance committee discussed a proposed email security product that passed a proof-of-concept and would add a screening layer to block known threats from reaching staff and student inboxes.
Lee's Summit R-VII finance committee members discussed a planned purchase of an email security product that the district tested and says will block known threats before they reach staff and student inboxes.
The product, which district staff said was the result of a procurement and proof-of-concept test, would add "an additional layer of security for our email" for both staff and students, Dr. Whaley, a district staff member, told the committee. "It's a necessary thing. It's just another tool in our cybersecurity toolbox."
Dr. Whaley said the district ran a proof of concept; a committee member asked whether the trial ran 30 days or 90 days. Dr. Whaley said the district initially ran the proof of concept for about 30 days and extended to 90 days to allow for contracting and verification. The district reported that it is not currently using the product in production but would implement it if the committee approves purchase.
A committee member asked whether the district's current email security was inadequate. Dr. Whaley replied: "Correct. Primarily, right now, email security, we rely on Google, which is Gmail ... we still have some traffic coming through, some emails coming through." Kenzie, an IT staff member who worked on the proof of concept, told the committee that "a significant portion of events and incidents begin in email. Stats vary, but are looking well above 70% of incidents begin with an email."
Dr. Whaley said the district has seen impersonation attempts over the last year, with emails appearing to come from district staff accounts. "We've had several incidents of emails going out with my name on them from a bot or a bad actor trying to get information," Dr. Whaley said, adding the new tool would help reduce that risk.
The discussion focused on the product's role as an additional security layer; committee members did not record a formal vote during the meeting. Staff indicated the product would be brought forward in the contract list for committee/board approval when appropriate.
District IT staff present for the discussion included Dr. Whaley and Missus Wooderson, director of network services, who participated to answer technical questions.
