LAWRENCE COUNTY - (APRIL 27, 2022) - The Lawrence County Council approved the purchase of cyber security upgrades from Information Technology Services in the amount of $60,000.
The approval came following concerns by council member Julie Heweston, on the proposed purchase and whether this was the best deal for the county.
Jessica Staggs Auditor for the county was not in attendance for Tuesday's meeting, and Scott Nikirk who is the IT specialist for the county and owner of Information Technology Services was not available for questions by the council.
Normally, when an office holder is not in attendance the request is tabled. Lawrence County President Scott Smith presented the information to the full council on Tuesday.
The upgrades will provide I-Cloud back-up and additional storage. The county's insurance company requested the upgrades in order to renew any policy. At this time the county is not insured for cyber-attacks.
Council members wanted to know whether other providers were contacted and what was the other rates. In addition, the county council members wanted to know who the provider was which was not disclosed originally during the meeting.
Council members requested to get a hold of Staggs via telephone during the meeting to find out additional information before a vote was taken on the matter.
Julie Chase left the council meeting to contact Staggs to find out information on the proposal.
Janie Craig Chenault texted Scott Nikirk during the meeting to learn that other providers were contacted, but the cost for the county would be at no additional cost to the county. At this time, the other providers consulted was not disclosed during the meeting or their proposals.
Lawrence County Council members passed the measure 7-0.
During the Lawrence County Commissioners early Tuesday morning approved a request of $79,000 for Goggle Storage and improvements to the county's IT system.
The Lawrence County Information Technology was attacked in February 2020, which was costly for the county.
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