Resilience

Washington, D.C., government shifted to operate with modifications, to ensure essential services remained available during the January snow event. IT played a supportive role behind the scenes.

Nearly one-third of state agencies haven’t completed required security assessments, according to a new audit report. That number, however, represents a marked improvement from a similar review in 2019.

In California, Pennsylvania, Washington and elsewhere, water districts are often turning to GIS and other tech tools to better serve their communities and the increasing needs of firefighting.

The Office of Technology Services has emphasized those goals as part of a broader five-year strategic plan aimed at modernizing state tech services and enhancing the customer experience.

“Smart cities” were just the start. Now, as technology evolves and new threats — wildfires, hurricanes, cyber attacks — mount, system interoperability is the answer for cities that are resilient, equitable and adaptable.

Officials in Indiana and Missouri said technologists remain watchful, but their states so far seem to have avoided compromise. The latter’s Office of Administration credited a layered security approach for helping deflect bad actors.

State CISOs in North Carolina and Arizona said their teams began work immediately to ensure on-prem SharePoint systems were secure, following the recent disclosure of an active zero-day exploit.

In light of federal plans to phase out FEMA by the end of 2025, artificial intelligence can help multiply and streamline state and local preparation for, response to and recovery from wildfires, hurricanes and floods.

Resilient regions and organizations require well thought out disaster plans addressing recovery and mitigation. In creating them, state officials said, collaboration with other governments and communities is essential.

If passed by the Missouri House, the money would pay for cleanup and debris removal in the city following a May 16 tornado, similar to when the state receives federal emergency relief dollars.

Recent cyber attacks have given a new urgency to business resiliency in the public and private sectors. Let’s explore the problem and some workable answers.

Emergency dispatch officials in Fairbanks, Alaska, the interior’s most populous city, have moved to a cloud-based communications platform for increased resiliency. Doing so enables staff to work remotely if needed.

As geospatial technology supplier Forerunner launches an AI-backed language translation tool, its CEO describes the next steps for AI in this part of gov tech — while cautioning that AI can’t do everything.

The Southern California city added $1 million to its cybersecurity budget during a 16-month investigation into a 2023 network breach that exposed sensitive data. Officials are now notifying people who may have been affected.

As disasters like severe flooding in Appalachia become more regular occurrences, we must do more than celebrate community resilience. Investments in infrastructure and systems that can withstand major events are essential.

Kiowa and Elizabeth, Colo., are the state's first communities to get high-speed Internet as a result of its nearly $1 billion allocation of federal broadband funds. The goal is to connect 99 percent of households statewide by 2027.

Cybersecurity is around-the-clock work, but panelists at the Southern Florida Digital Government Summit offered several ideas for keeping operations secure. Generative artificial intelligence, one official said, is moving humans away from operations.

States are navigating an ever-growing number of emergencies, including unprecedented weather events, infrastructure failures and cybersecurity incidents. Response plans must stay agile.