IT warns of cybersecurity gap, touts MFA rollout and new public-facing permitting tools
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Summary
IT said federal cybersecurity supports previously provided for free will require a roughly $30,000 annual subscription if maintained; staff described near‑complete MFA deployment (Imprivata) at clinics, the technology behind the new crisis center, and an enterprise permitting tool due for early iteration in September.
Benton County’s IT leadership briefed the commission July 16 on a mix of operational lift and new citizen services.
IT said two federal cybersecurity services (via CISA and the MS‑ISAC program) that had been free to the county are no longer available, producing an estimated gap of about $30,000 per year. Staff said the services were “nice to have” and that current internal tools and the county’s contracted security operations center (Arctic Wolf) provide core protections; IT will assess whether to pursue capital funding for subscription coverage.
On authentication and clinical systems, IT reported widespread implementation of Imprivata multi‑factor authentication in clinics and health locations; a few components (dental) remain. The county also deployed technology supporting the new crisis center (hoteling, security and monitoring displays), and staff said the center’s systems are operating smoothly.
IT previewed a citizen‑facing enterprise permitting tool, developed with a consultant, intended to walk applicants through permit types and required steps. An iterative release is expected early to mid‑September, with gradual additions of more permit types and internal testing visible to commissioners during development. IT also described a web project to merge internal intranet content into the public site, reduce the number of publishers, and add citizen login/profile features to streamline transactions and reduce misinformation from AI indexing old content.
Other updates included device‑management migration for ~300–400 devices, an internal work‑tracking tool rollout, and fiber‑optic work with the city of Corvallis to support the courthouse construction project.