WAGRAM — Wagram’s Board of Commissioners agreed Thursday to tighten the town’s defenses against cyber threats, voting to hire IPM Computers to overhaul technology management and provide round-the-clock cybersecurity for the town.
The deal will cost the town $1,166.30. a month for the next four years — a significant investment, commissioners acknowledged, but one they said was overdue.
Raymond Spell, representing IPM Computers, didn’t mince words when he described what his team found during an assessment of the town’s system.
“Currently, you guys have nothing here that is managed. There’s nobody actually watching your back,” Spell said.
He noted the town is operating with a free version of McAfee antivirus software and has no protections in place to meet federal requirements for encrypting criminal justice files transmitted by the police department, meaning the town is currently in violation.
“All criminal files and everything else that are being sent by email … are supposed to be encrypted,” he said. “Currently, there’s no encryption on your email so that is one thing that needs to be addressed. That is a federal regulation, that is not a state regulation.”
Spell in his presentation also noted that the town would need to purchase $3,196 in new network equipment, a one-time cost that should last four to five years before replacement is needed. He likened the upgrade cycle to law enforcement vehicles: they may keep running for years, but eventually must be swapped out.
“We’ll be remoting in every day, fixing issues on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “We’ll be backing it up, providing the cybersecurity protection that you need as well as if we have to come out on site, we’ll come on site.”
Spell also recommended migrating town emails to Microsoft Office 365 so accounts could be managed securely and backed up properly. Right now, he said, town emails are scattered across personal computers with no central oversight.
Town Clerk Ann Locklear said the board hadn’t budgeted for the changes but does have unallocated funds available.
“We do have funds available … If you are concerned about funds, we can pull some money,” Locklear said.
Locklear also reached out to Spectrum for a competing proposal. She told commissioners that Spectrum’s quote came in about $10 more than IPM’s monthly rate, but choosing that route would require buying out the town’s existing contract.
Spell added that IPM already provides IT and cybersecurity services to other North Carolina municipalities, including Holly Ridge, Richlands, Magnolia, Teachey and Faison.
Mayor Barbara Pierce reminded commissioners that Scotland County recently faced its own cybersecurity crisis. She said Wagram should not wait for a similar situation before acting.
In other business, commissioners met Scotland County’s new economic development director, Jeffrey McKay.
“I just want the town to know, I work for Scotland County, Wagram is part of Scotland County and I would love to serve you any way I can. My door is open,” McKay said.
When asked about the town’s prospects for growth, McKay pointed to surrounding counties. He said Hoke County has halted new building permits because of water issues, while Wagram still has infrastructure in place.
“To me you’ve got a great city infrastructure … Some of it might be dated, but I think there’s an opportunity,” he said.