Brown County approves three-year state-provided DNS filtering license at no cost

Brown County commissioners voted to apply for a three-year, state-funded DNS filtering license intended to block malicious internet domains and gave county staff authority to sign any required grant paperwork.

Staff member (Speaker 4) told commissioners the state of Kansas is making licenses available under a grant and that the service would operate at the DNS level, meaning "we don't even need to install anything. We just need to change some stuff in the" network settings. He said the county's cybersecurity partner had reviewed the approach and saw no material objections.

Commissioners pressed staff on costs after the three-year grant period and on vendor provenance. One commissioner asked, "So if you did keep it, it'd be, like, close to $9,000 a year?" Staff said he did not have a final price and that the state invitation came from the Kansas Information Security Office. The staff presentation named the company in the provided materials as "Akami." Commissioners requested safeguards to avoid automatic billing after the grant ends, and staff said they would follow up with reminders and oversight to prevent unintended charges.

Chair moved to apply for the county internet/security license and to give county signature authority; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The commission's action applies to accepting the state-offered license and granting staff signature authority to complete any required application or acceptance paperwork.

Why it matters: The license would add an extra layer of DNS-based filtering to county internet traffic at no cost during the grant period, potentially reducing the county's exposure to malicious domains. Commissioners flagged the possibility of ongoing costs after the grant and asked staff to monitor renewal terms and billing practices.

The commission carried the motion during the meeting and did not set a follow-up vote in the transcript for a post-grant procurement decision.