Madison County uses ARPA funds for IT security: Cisco DUO and Arctic Wolf contracts approved
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Summary
The county approved an ARPA-funded emergency appropriation for IT security and authorized purchases of Cisco DUO multi-factor authentication and Arctic Wolf monitoring services to bolster cybersecurity.
Madison County Board members on June 16 approved an immediate emergency appropriation and subsequent vendor contracts to strengthen county cybersecurity.
Finance reported the county received $51,078,063 in federal ARPA funding; the board authorized an immediate emergency appropriation of $163,437.50 to create an ARPA – Information Technology fund. The appropriation covers purchases the county says are eligible under ARPA to protect critical infrastructure.
The Information Technology Committee recommended and the board approved two procurement contracts to be paid from that fund: a one‑year Cisco DUO multi‑factor authentication cloud subscription from Insight Public Sector for $50,747.90, and Arctic Wolf security monitoring services from Carahsoft Technology Corp. for $112,689.60. Both contracts were approved by voice vote (24–0).
Committee members and the IT director briefed the board on ransomware threats and the need to harden remote and privileged access. Chairman Jamie Goggin said the products will strengthen login protections and continuous monitoring of threats; the items were described as urgent measures following national trends in ransomware targeting local governments.
The board approved the purchases and directed that the ARPA IT appropriation be used to execute the contracts and implement the services.
Next steps include implementation and monitoring reports from the IT department on deployment progress and operational impacts.