Denton County proclaims Cybersecurity Awareness Month; IT director urges continued staff training

Denton County Commissioners Court on a September 2025 meeting approved a proclamation recognizing October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month and heard remarks from Kevin Carr, director of technology services.

Carr advised residents and county employees to practice basic cybersecurity steps: recognize and report phishing, use unique strong passwords, enable multifactor authentication and keep software updated. He told the court the county will delay the annual rollout of its internal cyber security champion program until 2026 because of staffing limitations and will announce the rescheduled 2026 program in the near future.

"Everybody, citizens, businesses, and governments rely on technology every day," Carr said. "It's a shared responsibility; everybody has to learn a little bit more about how to improve security." He recommended using different passwords for each website and enabling multifactor authentication where possible.

Commissioners thanked Carr and his information‑security team for their ongoing work, noting prior cyber incidents they had seen in other jurisdictions and the expense of recovery. One commissioner recalled an attack experienced while serving as mayor and said preventative work was less painful and costly than responding after an incident.

The proclamation approved by the court notes federal recognition of October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month and lists common protective steps for the public. The court directed staff to continue promoting awareness and training to county employees and citizens.

Ending: County IT will delay the cybersecurity champion rollout to 2026 and will share details when available. County leaders praised the information security team and encouraged employees and residents to practice the basic cyber hygiene steps Carr outlined.