Morrison County signs on as provider to Minnesota Cyber Response Team; volunteers bound by confidentiality

Morrison County signed two documents with the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) to participate in the Minnesota Cyber Response Team (MNCRT): a confidentiality agreement and a Provider County participation agreement. Together they define how county IT staff may provide advisory assistance to other counties experiencing cyber incidents.

Under the confidentiality agreement, Morrison County and its designated MNCRT volunteers must treat information about a Recipient County’s cyber incident as confidential and share it only on a need‑to‑know basis with AMC, other MNCRT volunteers, or Recipient County representatives. The agreement allows disclosure when required by law but asks volunteers to notify the Recipient County and AMC in advance where practicable.

The Provider Agreement makes participation voluntary and advisory: MNCRT volunteers provide guidance and initial steps but do not perform hands‑on work inside a recipient’s systems or report on behalf of the recipient. The County must designate at least one IT professional as a volunteer, ensure volunteers are credentialed by the county, and execute the confidentiality agreement. Participation is unpaid; the agreement includes indemnity language requiring the county to hold AMC and others harmless for acts or advice provided in the MNCRT context.

AMC’s contact for the program is listed as Julie Ring; Morrison County’s IT contact for MNCRT participation is Amy Middendorf. The agreements emphasize the applicability of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act and limit the use and retention of confidential incident data to what is necessary to assist a recipient county.