Kansas

A big spike in the cost of software licensing was addressed at Tuesday's meeting of the Barton County Commission, potentially owing to one company being acquired by new ownership.

The state’s new Small Business Office has launched a platform aimed at creating a resource network to help small businesses to get started and build connections. Coming soon is a new tool to assess loan readiness.

The funding will come via the Advancing Digital Opportunities to Connect Kansans program. It includes nearly $49,000 for five solar-powered benches with free public Wi-Fi, for the Emporia Public Library.

The state’s around-the-clock Security Operations Center now handles as many as 14 billion logs monthly. “Monitoring/security operations center” was a CISO priority for just 14 states, a recent Deloitte-NASCIO study found.

The Freestate Middle Mile Network ultimately will deploy 682 miles of fiber with funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. A goal is for Kansas to be among the top 10 states for broadband access by 2030.

State officials in Kansas have continued to modernize technology platforms and improve cybersecurity, even as they spearheaded a recovery from a 2023 ransomware attack against the judicial system.

A planned bioprocessing and industrial innovation center at Kansas State University will allow researchers and corporate partners to develop pilot-scale countermeasures for a broad range of emerging zoonotic diseases.

Tech leaders from Kansas, Nebraska and New Hampshire recently shared insights into building talent pipelines, bringing on interns and other strategies to maintain robust workforces.

CISO John Godfrey sees potential for AI to help cybersecurity teams know when it’s safe to push patches fast. At the same time, he’s keeping an eye on AI-powered threats like deepfakes.

Plus, Kansas has announced funding for digital skills training, a map illustrates municipal networks across the country, and more.

A ransomware attack that crippled the city of Wichita's network for more than a month starting in May was limited to a Wichita Police Department records system, city officials said Wednesday.

A federal grand jury has indicted a North Korean national for his part in an alleged hacking and extortion conspiracy that targeted a Kansas hospital, NASA, U.S. Air Force bases and health-care entities from Colorado to Florida.

Plus, Washington launched a digital equity dashboard, Kansas announced funding for digital literacy, a Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty was launched, and more.

Legislation pending before Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, touted to lawmakers by the safety company ZeroEyes, would earmark $5 million in grants for schools to buy security systems that comply with security industry standards.

The city of Wichita has shut down its computer network in response to a cyber attack, leaving some city services temporarily unavailable and requiring first responders to switch to backup procedures.

A recent cyber attack on the state court system underscored the need to boost government defenses. The bill would also bring more consolidation to executive branch IT operations.

In the wake of a foreign cyber attack last year that impacted the state’s online court system, lawmakers are considering a bill that would set timelines for agencies to meet national cybersecurity standards and penalize those that do not.

Today, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced the appointment of John Godfrey to take the role of state chief information security officer. Godfrey takes over for Jeff Maxon, who was recently appointed to a new position.