Commissioners vote to spend $230,000 to improve county cybersecurity

The Lorain County commissioners voted Tuesday to spend $230,000 on improved cybersecurity for county government computer systems. The board voted unanimously to enter into two five-year contracts with Conversant Group of Chattanooga, Tennessee: One worth $124,829 for "comprehensive endpoint management," or CEM, services; and a second worth $105,140 for Conversant's Securitas Summa program for management, recovery, backups and data protection. County Information Technology Director Todd Sharkey said the contracts were a continuation of a three-year investigament in cybersecurity and development of a "robust backup system to protect our data from any kind of breaches." Beyond providing secure backups for county data, it also helps the county stay in line with mandates handed down by the state, he said. Commissioner Jeff Riddell, a Republican, said the state requires the county adopt cybersecurity protocols. "It's really gonna move us forward in that way," Sharkey told the board. According to Intel, CEM services keep computer network users connected and help protect data, programs, networks and devices from cyberattacks. An "endpoint" means any electronic device on a computer network that connects to the internet. The backup data security the county is purchasing will allow it to have backups in multiple places within the county, Sharkey said. That makes sure backups are "immutable," meaning they can't be erased or destroyed. Sharkey called that "huge protection when it comes to cybersecurity" as most ransomware attacks — cyber attacks that demand payment in exchange for regaining access to your information — destroy your backups first, he said. Sharkey said his department is working with multiple county offices and that the agreements with Conversant would "really be able to protect the entire county" government. Several county departments were closed for a time and their computer systems affected after what the commissioners called a cyber "incident" in May. Few updates have been given since except to say that the matter was under investigation, and a message seeking further comment was left Tuesday for all three commissioners. In other business Tuesday, the commissioners: certified 1,999 sewer customers who owe a total of more than $634,245 in delinquent payments to the Lorain County Auditor's Office for collection. The delinquent charges will be placed on their property tax duplicates for 2025 for collection in 2026. awarded a $71,031 contract to Leiby Construction Inc. of West Salem for the West North Street drainage improvement project in Rochester. Approximately 330 feet of storm sewer along West North Street in the village will be removed and replaced by Dec. 1. The Ohio Public Works Commission will pay $38,357 and the county Engineer's Office will pay $32,674, with the village reimbursing the Engineer's Office its costs when the project is done. authorized a participation agreement as part of the ongoing National Opioid Settlement Agreement. Small opioid manufacturers will pay an additional $1.1 billion in cash and provide pharmaceutical products to be distributed among state and local governments nationwide in the coming decades after reaching an agreement to do so to make up for their role in the opioid epidemic.Riddell said Lorain County will receive some funds from the settlement over the next 20 to 25 years. The manufacturers named Tuesday include Alvogen, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Apotex, Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA, Indivior, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Zydus Pharmaceuticals. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.