Up-to-date knowledge of information technology is more important than ever for cities and towns. For this reason, the Municipal Association of SC and its technology partner, VC3, are offering Tech Talks throughout the 2024 Annual Meeting on July 18, 19 and 20 — quick, 15-minute sessions about critical information for elected officials and municipal staff.
Thursday, July 18
10:00 a.m.: Artificial Intelligence and Local Government: The Opportunities and the Risks – From chatbots on a municipal website that help answer residents’ questions to data analysis that can help with areas such as waste management, practical AI may impact cities and towns much sooner than leaders think. This session will discuss applications of AI, along with risks.
11:00 a.m.: Take Your City from Cyber Uninsurable to Insurable – Many cities do not have the “basic basics” in place for defending against ransomware attacks— multi-factor authentication, endpoint detection and response, and data backup. As a result, insurers increasingly see municipalities as uninsurable. This session will provide some tips on navigating cyber insurance.
2:15 p.m.: A Guide to Municipal IT Budget Planning – Information technology is a critical part of a municipality’s annual spending. This session will talk about the components of an IT budget, presenting IT budgets to council, and IT budgeting examples.
3:30 p.m.: What Is Hardware as a Service? – Through Hardware as a Service, or HaaS, cities have experienced benefits from a proactive approach to hardware sourcing — gaining flexibility, scalability and cost-effectiveness while ensuring their IT infrastructure remains up to date and responsive to evolving needs.
Friday, July 19
10:00 a.m.: What You Need to Know About the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program – The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and Office of Homeland Security will open applications for the 2023 SLCGP grant funding in mid-June, releasing millions of dollars that municipalities can apply for and providing a rare opportunity to fund cybersecurity projects.
11:15 a.m.: Why Multi-Factor Authentication Is Essential – MFA adds another layer of authentication, such as a code sent to the user’s phone, that helps prevent cyberattackers from accessing systems. It’s a simple tool that adds a difficult obstacle for cyberattackers and needs to be applied throughout a municipality.
2:45 p.m.: End Users Pose the Biggest Risk to Your Operation – More municipalities are applying for cyber insurance and not qualifying, even with advanced security tools. Cities need to be able to prove that their people have the knowledge and skills to avoid falling for deceptive and manipulative ploys from cyberattackers.
4:00 p.m.: Introduction to Copilot — a Powerful AI Tool — for Microsoft 365 – Microsoft has introduced a family of products called “Copilot” that are built on generative artificial intelligence. In addition to the capability to create text, images and other content, this AI technology allows users to interact with it using back-and-forth conversation.
Saturday, July 20
9:30 a.m.: Disaster Recovery Checklist and Best Practices for Municipalities – A disaster recovery plan for things like ransomware attacks or destructive storms goes far beyond just data backup. When a disaster hits, it’s not very helpful when the recovered data looks like a big pile of random stuff. Cities need to understand how to piece it all back together and restore operations.
10:30 a.m.: A Managed IT Services Foundation for Cities and Towns – With constrained budgets limiting the ability to hire expensive IT professionals, small municipalities can struggle to maintain computers, internet connectivity, Wi-Fi, and email. This session will consider how to develop and pay for proactive IT support, maintenance and planning.
Find more information about the Annual Meeting. The Tech Talk schedule will be available on the Municipal Association of SC app, which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play.