Knox County IT reports firewall upgrade, surge in support tickets and planned infrastructure work

The county IT director (speaker 4) told the Board of Commissioners that a recent firewall replacement produced a large increase in service tickets and improved network segmentation between departments.

"We had almost, 470 tickets last month, which is, a kind of insane explosion compared to last month," the IT director said, explaining the spike occurred during the week the firewall was replaced and reflected the many rules and adjustments required for the upgrade. He said the firewall work segmented departments into separate digital realms to limit the impact of any potential breach.

The director also said the board of elections has purchased a new server and the county is consolidating several older servers into a single box that will be installed after the election cycle to reduce licensing costs. The IT department is supporting Mount Vernon as it migrates departments into a new building and recently completed a project for the village of Gambeer that included new computers, a firewall and Wi‑Fi systems.

On security compliance, the director said state audits have highlighted the need for multi‑factor authentication for certain systems used by police and 9‑1‑1 and that the county is evaluating mobile data terminals and vendor solutions. He added that critical power (battery backups) installed in 2014 will likely need replacement and staff are collecting quotes for a cost‑effective upgrade.

Commissioners asked for cost estimates and clarifications on responsibility for supporting other agencies; the IT director said tracking of hours and clear agreements will continue. The report did not include formal votes.