County IT update: Regional Forensic Science Center move, cybersecurity steps, Red Sky rollout and mobile-device work

Marathon County communications and information-technology staff updated the Infrastructure Committee on July 9 about several ongoing projects, including the move-in schedule for the Regional Forensic Science Center, cybersecurity and disaster-recovery planning, a countywide rollout of a Red Sky address product for enhanced 911 location accuracy and work to standardize mobile-device management.

CCIT staff said the Regional Forensic Science Center team is completing moves into the facility this week, with some vendor video equipment work underway and staff occupancy beginning the following day. The move follows months of planning and technical work.

IT staff said a recent ransomware incident at another Wisconsin county prompted an after-action review and a prioritized list of security improvements for Marathon County. As part of those changes, the county plans to roll out a product called Red Sky that lets staff enter or confirm an address when making 911 calls from soft phones outside the regular network; a pilot involving several staff members was completed and the county expects a broader rollout next week.

The county also plans to upgrade mobile-device management to Microsoft Intune. CCIT staff said the migration has been more complex than expected because departments used a variety of approaches for work and personal phones; the effort will include creating standardized policies and addressing how the county manages both county-issued and personal devices used for work.

CCIT also told the committee it is tracking specialized vendor work at the forensic center and will continue disaster-recovery improvements prompted by peer ransomware incidents. Committee members had no questions and thanked staff for the updates.