County approves additional cybersecurity coverage

At the request of the county Information Technology (IT) department, county commissioners voted during their Oct. 21 meeting to approve about $12,500 for additional annual cybersecurity insurance coverage.

 

IT department head Judy Hiller placed the request based on information shared by the IT department in Mower County, which experienced a ransomware attack in June. The Mower County official had shared at a recent conference that the coverage common to many counties in the region through the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT) was insufficient given the many demands and costs associated with the attack. 

 

According to information shared during the meeting, MCIT coverage includes sending a response team to the location. Mower County discovered nearly instantaneous response is needed to mitigate the difficulties which arise once internet security is breached. The attack in Mower County resulted in confidential medical records being taken for “ransom,” and Mower County eventually determining it had little choice but to pay.

 

The amount paid has not been released.

 

County administrator Michael Johnson took advantage of the conversation to remind everyone that the human element is the greatest cybersecurity risk–whether it is because someone clicks on a malicious link or uses a weak password. He mentioned that the county is repeatedly attacked and that cybercriminals use sophisticated algorithms to try to find a way into the system.

 

County Public Health Nurse Sarah Berry let commissioners know that the 16-member “Opioid Settlement Advisory Council” will be sending out “requests for proposals” to the community in the near future.  The advisory council will make recommendations to the county board regarding how money allocated to Waseca County under a number of national lawsuits should be used. 

 

Stipulations for the money, more than $1 million to be received over the next 14 or more years, include that it should be used to help prevent people from misusing opioids or mitigate problems caused by illicit opioid use.

 

Berry also sought permission to have public health staff investigate the possibility of offering testing for sexually transmitted infections. Berry told commissioners staff have noted a slow response time for testing at the designated regional clinic in Mankato, and believe county residents could be better served if testing were available locally. 

 

Conversation surrounding this topic revealed that sexually transmitted infections have risen sharply among people 55 and older in the past few years.

 

Commissioners voted to allow investigation into the possibility of testing, and will make a decision on the matter after hearing what staff members have learned regarding costs for supplies and the amount of staff time that might be needed.

 

Also during the Oct. 21 meeting, board members heard from Don White, operations manager for the Waseca SMART transit system and Curt Kuchera, the regional manager for the organization.

 

The two reported the Waseca organization has been in the community for 11 years. There are currently three full-time and four part-time drivers with one “route” bus in service from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and two “demand response” buses running from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

The “Southern Minnesota Area Rural Transit” service has delivered about 11,000 rides so far in 2025 and is currently servicing 35 school age students for whom regular school bus transportation is not practical.