City technology and risk-management staff described a federal grant offer to fund cybersecurity improvements, including standardized network switches and an external penetration test, during the Jan. 7 study session.

Why it matters: the grant would fund technical upgrades that modernize the city network, increase monitoring and identify vulnerabilities before they are exploited.

Matthew Ray, who presented the item, told the council that the city identifies cybersecurity gaps through annual assessments and then seeks grants to address high-priority items. Ray said the city’s top two priorities for the current grant were (1) replace and standardize network switches to improve visibility and (2) hire an external team to perform on-site and remote penetration testing and provide remediation guidance.

Ray said the procurement quotes improved slightly since the packet was prepared: the scope of work decreased by $750 and the network-switch quote decreased by $700 after removing a VPN item and adding cabling to move the internal network from 1-gig to 10-gig capacity, with a net reduction of about $250 before sales tax. Ray asked the council to place the grant acceptance on the consent agenda at the next regular meeting.

Council members praised the proposal and noted recent high-profile cyber incidents elsewhere that disrupted services. One council member said the penetration-testing deliverable would feed strategic planning and infrastructure risk assessment.

Next steps: if the council signs the item at the next regular meeting staff will proceed with accepting the FEMA funds and the associated purchases and work. No formal council action was taken at the study session.