FAIRFAX TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM #13
MEETING DATE July 17, 2024
PREPARED FOR Mayor and Town Council
PREPARED BY Christine Foster, Deputy Clerk
SUBJECT Approve Responses to the 2023-2024 Marin County Civil Grand Jury Report entitled "Cyber Preparedness - Are We There Yet?"
RECOMMENDATION
Approve responses to the Marin County Civil Grand Jury Report entitled "Cyber Preparedness - Are We There Yet?"
BACKGROUND
In California, civil grand juries are authorized to “investigate and report upon the operations, accounts, and records of the officers, departments, functions, and the method or system of performing the duties of any such city or joint powers agency and make such recommendations as it may deem proper and fit” (Cal. Penal Code section 925a). Within 90 days after the grand jury submits a report regarding the operations of any public agency, the “governing body of the public agency shall comment to the presiding judge of the superior court on the findings and recommendations pertaining to matters under the control of the governing body...” (Cal. Penal Code section 933(c)).
DISCUSSION
The Civil Grand Jury Report titled "Cyber Preparedness - Are We There Yet?" focuses on evaluating the readiness of government entities in Marin County for potential cyber-attacks. Released on May 17, 2024, the report concludes that while there is a high degree of preparedness among these entities, there are still several areas for improvement. One of the key recommendations is the formation of a joint powers authority to coordinate cyber preparedness efforts among the cities, towns, and special districts, with the Marin Department of Information Services and Technology leading the initiative.
The report emphasizes the importance of enhancing cybersecurity measures to protect against evolving threats and includes various other recommendations aimed at improving overall cyber resilience in the county. Responses to the report from the involved agencies and entities are due by August 17, 2024. The Grand Jury has requested the Town respond to Findings F1-F6 and Recommendations R1, R6 (a) and (b).
Staff has reviewed the Grand Jury Report and drafted responses. The responses show that the Town agrees with the findings and has made comments on the recommendations.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
ATTACHMENTS
Responses to Grand Jury Report
Town of Fairfax
Response to Grand Jury Report
Report Title: "Cyber Preparedness - Are We There Yet?"
Respondent/Agency Name: Town of Fairfax
Report Date: May 17, 2024
Findings
We agree with the findings numbered: F1-F6
We disagree wholly or partially with the findings numbered: N/A.
Recommendations
Recommendations numbered: R1-R6 have noted responses.
Dated: July 17, 2024 Signed: _______________________________ Barbara Coler, Mayor of Fairfax
ATTEST:
____________________________________
Christine Foster, Deputy Town Clerk
Number of pages attached: 1
Findings and responses
R1. Marin agencies should require a current (executed within the last five years), competitively bid, written contract which includes business continuity language for any third-party Information Technology services they use.
Response: The Town of Fairfax is working to secure a current and up-to-date contract for Information Technology, Information Systems, and Cybersecurity with a third-party provider which includes a Business Continuity clause, or other language.
R2-5 Are recommendations to the Marin County Board of Supervisors. They are not applicable to this jurisdiction and should be commented on only by the Board of Supervisors.
R6. All Marin municipalities should:
a) take all steps necessary to acquire an appropriate .gov or .ca.gov domain; Response: We are taking steps to acquire an appropriate .gov or .ca.gov domain by engaging the services of our IT Services third-party provider, as well as, our website platform provider.
b) formulate and adopt a plan for rolling out a .gov or .ca.gov website and emails by the start of the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year.
Response: We anticipate formulating a plan to adopt and roll out a .gov or .ca.gov website and emails by the start of the 2025-2026 fiscal year.