The pre-application workshops for the 2024 Municipal Park Grants, Round 25, have been scheduled.

We invite all prospective grant applicants to attend. Valuable knowledge and additional points are up for grabs!

SCHEDULE:

Workshop 1:    Wed.,  June 12th - Brentwood Community Center - 9AM
Workshop 2:   Thurs., June 13th -  Maryland Heights City Hall  -  9AM 
Workshop 3:   Thurs., June 20th - Normandy City Hall -   4PM

You spoke. We listened.

In collaboration with Cunningham, Vogel, and Rost, our June offering is a "Special Interest Class" inspired by audience suggestions. The class, focusing on Community Engagement, will be instructed by Kara Roberson, Strategic Communications Officer for the City of Wentzville and 2022 3CMA Communicator of the Year.

Look out for the invite next week!  

By Joe Harris, Global Enterprise Sales at Chameleon Integrated Services, St Louis    Municipalities and the Threat Landscape 

Because of resource constraints, the fact that they house large data sets and have a low perspective of the risk, municipalities are a huge threat for cyber-attacks. Employee count and budget constraints can equal a difficulty in reacting to and taking preventative measures to stop the victimization of cities and counties infrastructure and data. Because they likely have billing information for the citizens, they are in many cases a prime target, not to mention the access to critical resources like power and water. It’s also possible that like many small business’ municipalities can have a general perception that they are not the main target for cyber criminals, however this is not backed up by the data. 
 
For example, in 2019, Riviera Beach, Florida the city government was crippled by hackers who encrypted critical systems, including those controlling utilities and email. The attack disrupted city operations for weeks, forcing officials to resort to pen and paper for tasks. The city ultimately refused to pay the ransom and eventually restored systems from backups, but the incident highlighted the vulnerability of smaller municipalities. Another example is Atlanta, Georgia (2018), when it faced a large-scale data breach. Hackers gained access to a city database containing personal information of millions of residents, including names, social security numbers, and birthdates. The breach exposed the city to lawsuits and damaged public trust. While Atlanta did not pay a ransom, the attack resulted in significant financial losses and reputational damage. The estimated cost of this attack is $17 Million. 
 
But there is certainly hope even for the smallest of governments. The first step is to realize that there is a problem. There is no doubt that modern times have taught us that the question of a cyber-attack is not if, but when. Understanding that we all are targets and can be victims is the first step. Opening your mind to preventing and building a plan to react to these attacks is paramount. You can do so by forming good partnerships, looking for companies that understand your needs and have the expertise to help, even if they are just auditing your current infrastructure and policies. Sure, this is not going to be a free service, but it’s money well spent, so find a company that has a great reputation. 
 
Securing data with long term goals should be at the forefront of any municipality that wishes to stay ahead of the game. Be sure that you are staying up to date and training employees against cyber security threats. Even if you are not as regulated as a hospital or Financial Institution, you can still secure yourself by the same standards. There are ever changing technology and procedures for this.   Be sure to have a technology advisor or director who understands the challenges and can help you find solutions to offset the loss of data when possible.
 

Be sure to check The Municipal League of Metro St. Louis website for Municipal Job Postings.  Click here.