Response to hacking
LAWTON – Prompted by hackers calling themselves “China-fans” who defaced the Comanche County website last month and recent attempts by outsiders to log in to county emails, county officials are considering whether to buy and install one secure email software system for use by every county office.
The majority of Comanche County offices use Microsoft email but some use Yahoo and some use Google mail, Amy McGlone, the county’s public information officer, told the county commissioners Monday. If anyone hacks into the email account of any Comanche County employee who sends a message via comanchecounty.us, “That gives the hacker a back door to get into our system,” McGlone said. To enhance data security, “We need to get everybody on a system such as Microsoft Government” which would “give us better control, better security.”
The county has 84 email users but “we ballparked it for 100,” she said.
District 2 County Commissioner Johnny Owens reminded his fellow commissioners and other county officers that the City of Lawton’s computer system was disabled for several days in 2017 by a digital virus that infected the city’s network and technological systems. The cyberattack crippled numerous municipal services and more than 500 computers citywide.
A third-party vendor, In-Motion, hosts the county’s internet website but “cannot provide us with the level of security we need,” McGlone told the commissioners.
“We need someone that considers us their priority,” she said. “And we need someone to be on-hand at all times.” The Comanche County Courthouse does not have an information technology [IT] specialist on staff.
“Even if we had 30 IT guys, you’re still going to get hacked,” District 3 County Commissioner Alvin Cargill said.
Perhaps, but at least the county’s data would have duplicate backups, Owens said.
The Microsoft Government product is cloud-based, which backs up files, McGlone said.
“We need to check into this a little more,” Cargill suggested. “What would it take to put everybody under ‘comanchecounty.us’ email, and what are we paying for email service now?”
“We’re going to get with every elected county official and/or their department heads and find out how much is being spent on email services, software, and IT services,” McGlone said after the commissioners’ meeting.