Alpena County dispatch staff report radio encryption deadline, CodeRED cyberattack and CAD integration progress

Central Dispatch Director Kim Elkie told the Alpena County Central Dispatch Committee on Jan. 15 that the county is making progress on radio encryption and is tracking a state-imposed deadline of Sept. 15, 2026 to complete work.

Elkie also briefed members on a recent cyberattack affecting CodeRED, the county’s emergency alert vendor, saying the vendor is "in the process of verifying their security certificates with FEMA" and that "we will be staying with CodeRED and not jumping ship because of the cyberattack." Chief Andy Marceau voiced his support for that decision.

On system integration, Elkie said the county’s IT department had completed the tasks assigned to it for CAD integration with fire and EMS. Staff reported that the newest 911 trainee is in final stages of training and that a fourth dispatch console is functional but awaiting radio installation.

Why it matters: radio encryption affects secure voice communications between dispatch and public-safety radios; CodeRED outages or breaches can delay or disrupt mass notifications to the public. The committee heard the updates as informational items; no contract decisions or vendor terminations were proposed during the meeting.

Next steps noted during the meeting include continuing the radio-encryption work to meet the state deadline and monitoring CodeRED’s remediation steps. The committee adjourned at 3:06 p.m.