Our defenses probably block 90 out of the 100 messages. That sounds great, but 10% are landing in mailboxes. We depend on awareness training and other methods to catch those. It’s expensive, but it’s really important. One successful ransomware attack will cost a lot more money than what we are spending on these services.
As a local government, we have to hold personal information such as Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. Our systems will alert us to the presence of that information so that we know it’s there.
We have a two-man staff managing all of these systems: We have me and an IT manager, who also acts as a help desk. We have to be able to respond to these things right away. We are really engaged.
RELATED: Strong cyber resilience is essential to success.
STATETECH: Do you think your tech priorities are similar to those of larger cities? If they are different, how so?
MANN: I believe they are the same. It is just the scale that changes for local and state governments. The challenges are the same, be it Philadelphia or West Chester. It is just the population, the size of the government and budgets that are varied.
For example, Philadelphia is being hit with all of the same threats that we are being hit with. It is bigger, and it has more staff. But all of the challenges are the same.
DISCOVER: Small towns are doing more with less.
STATETECH: Have you seen your technology priorities change over time?
MANN: Yes, very much so. I’ve been here since 1986. The dominance and importance of cybersecurity has continued to increase in what IT departments are tasked with. Organizations of all shapes and sizes are under constant cyberthreats that become more complex all the time. Now, with the emergence of artificial intelligence, this threat is only going to become more complex and more dangerous, and harder to identify. At one time, only a decade or so ago, cybersecurity was a small part of what IT leaders were required to do. Now, it is over 50% of what I do. Cybersecurity strategy is the biggest change we have been faced with, and because of this, cybersecurity solutions consume much more of our budget as well as our time.
That’s the biggest change in the past 10 years: the complexity of cybersecurity and what it takes.
STATETECH: How has your city’s relationship with cloud services changed?
MANN: In 2010 and 2011, when I was getting my government CIO certification with Rutgers, my capstone project was titled “Cloud Computing: A History and Possible Future for the Borough of West Chester.” As early as 2010, we started moving to the cloud. I was a one-man show, managing the police 911 center and IT for the borough. Back then, all of my servers were physical, on-premises servers. Now, they are all virtual.
In 2010, I had to replace my Microsoft Exchange server, and I did a lot of research to move our email to the cloud and retire our old server. Today, we have Microsoft 365. Back then, it was Microsoft Online Services. So, I’ve been a big supporter of cloud services, if done in the right way. We are engaged in a lot of cloud services today, but we need the right mix of cloud services and on-premises services. It’s based on the size and needs of your community.
STATETECH: What are some significant IT achievements for West Chester in recent years?
MANN: Again, for me personally and professionally, it has been our laser focus on cybersecurity. We succeed through our smart investments in cybersecurity solutions and cybersecurity awareness training. I run many initiatives in this area, such as our Cybersecurity Daily episodes. Every day, I post a short episode on YouTube for staff and stakeholders. We have a Cybersecurity Friday newsletter for staff and stakeholders. Staff are empowered to report suspicious messages, and they will receive recognition as Cybersecurity All-Stars when they do that. We run regular phishing exercises every month, and we have an open door for all staff and elected officials to talk to us about cybersecurity.
EXPLORE: Technology skills and training solutions.
Cybersecurity efforts are critical to protecting an organization from threats such as ransomware. Today, protecting an organization’s information is critical. A successful cyberattack can lead to financial loss, liability risk, credibility harm and downtime. Once an organization is struck down, they lose credibility with the public. And downtime costs a city while it tries to figure out what happened.
STATETECH: What are significant IT milestones approaching for West Chester in the near future?
MANN: For me, I hope to improve the day-to-day experience the public has when they need to interact with our governmental services. It is often the small things that can frustrate people. Finding documents, finding agendas and other information on our complex websites can be frustrating. I hope to improve this soon with additional services on our website.
Another milestone I am working to achieve is helping to educate our community members on cybersecurity as well. This threat is a very real danger not only to local governments but to our residents as well. As taxpayers, we should share knowledge and provide knowledge as a service.
