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Fallon County staff outline state cybersecurity grant, eye workforce training
Summary
County IT staff briefed commissioners on a competitive state cybersecurity grant open through Jan. 9 that funds training, endpoint detection and other cybersecurity tools; staff recommended applying for professional development for technical staff and delaying endpoint detection until vendor contracts and refund questions are resolved.
Fallon County IT staff told commissioners the state’s cybersecurity grant application is open until Jan. 9 and covers five areas, including security-awareness training, professional development for cyber workforce and leadership, endpoint detection and response, network traffic monitoring training and multi-factor notification services. The staff member said the county is already on the state’s security-awareness contract and is most interested in the professional-development track, which "would be funded up to $5,100 for different training" but includes reimbursements only up to a lower figure for some costs.
The staff presentation stressed that the grant pool is limited and competitive. "It's my understanding that they've got just this pool of money and they're gonna use it," the presenter told commissioners, noting the current award round will be paid from 2022–23 funds and requires no local match this cycle. He recommended applying for the training funds first and postponing a countywide switch to the state endpoint detection platform until existing antivirus contract timelines and potential prorated refunds are resolved.
Commissioners asked about likely award sizes and long-term costs for licensing. Staff said the first year of licensing for the state endpoint platform could be covered by current awarded funds, but later years would include matching requirements (estimated at 30% for one cycle and 40% thereafter), and that the state-estimated license cost was roughly double the county’s current per-user antivirus cost. Commissioners and staff agreed to continue preparing application materials, gather budget-move options should funds be awarded, and confirm vendor contract end dates before committing to an endpoint transition.
The county’s next steps are to finalize application contacts and supporting documentation and, where needed, circulate a letter of support; staff also flagged that partnering organizations such as local schools could be included in workforce-training proposals if commissioners want to participate.
