LAWTON – The cybersecurity system at Comanche County’s emergency management center needs an upgrade, and the county is seeking a state grant to cover the cost.
With little discussion, the Comanche County Commission authorized emergency management director Clint Langford on May 6 to apply for a $145,000 grant from the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity grant program. If the grant is approved, the county would not have to supply matching funds.
After reviewing the emergency center’s cybersecurity system, staffers concluded that the program needs improvements to make it more robust and resilient, Langford said in an interview following the meeting.
“We have to make sure our emergency operations center – everything is always operational,” he said. “It can’t be susceptible to cyberattacks.”
Langford said the improvements would meet the state’s cybersecurity standards.
The emergency management center, which is located on the Great Plains Technology Center campus, houses the county’s E-911 center and its dispatchers. The center also handles emergency management for the city of Lawton as well as the county. Cybersecurity upgrades If the county receives the grant, the emergency management center would use the money to upgrade the entire cybersecurity system, from hardware to information technology. The improvements would include creating a redundant switching function, which would allow the center to switch to a different network in case the original network is disrupted.
The grant would also help the center establish continuity of operations, which would allow the center to move to another site if necessary and continue operating.
“We don’t want our IT (information technology) to be the reason that we can’t provide emergency operations to the citizens,” Langford said. “So that’s what this is for.”