| As the year draws to a close, we at GT wish you a safe and happy holiday season. We’ll see you back here in the New Year. MOST POPULAR The Year That Was The December print issue of Government Technology magazine offers a review of the top news stories in state and local government IT for 2019. Give it a look for both a walk down memory lane and a forecast as to what 2020 is likely to have in store. Among the most popular topics were ransomware, robotics and representation, but we promise there are many more that start with other letters. Ransomware Emergency
As mentioned above, ransomware attacks were plentiful this year, and 2019 was capped off by a Ryuk attack on New Orleans. GT cybersecurity writer Lucas Ropek wrote about the incident, which targeted 700 terabytes of data from 20 city systems housed on 400 servers. The city declared a state of emergency, a tactic starting to gain ground by jurisdictions looking for broad authority to quickly marshal resources that can aid in response. Alpha Site for the Golden State
Meanwhile in California, a lean team of IT employees and civic tech leaders has a big job on their to-do list, which they hope to nail down in the next three months: no less than a total redesign of the state’s website. The effort, led by the Office of Digital Innovation, is an open, iterative process that prioritizes user input – an approach that bears little resemblance to traditional IT project development in the country’s most populous state. A several-years-old effort to overhaul California’s financial information system (Fi$Cal), however, has hit some bumps in the road. That’s according to State Auditor Elaine M. Howle, who released a report this week citing “urgent concerns” about the project’s cost, management and performance. Long troubled, Howle is sounding the alarm that Fi$Cal’s shortcomings could affect the state’s credit rating and she’s requesting an additional project update from Fi$Cal and the California Department of Technology. Innovation Pivot for Kansas City
The departure this month of Kansas City Chief Innovation Officer Alex Braszko signals the closure of the city’s innovation office. Created under then-Mayor Sly James in 2013, the city is now pursuing its emerging technology endeavors through a new board that will have both internal and external representatives. Members will be appointed by Mayor Quinton Lucas, who assumed office in August. This new direction is intended to engage a broader cross-section of the community and city staff in smart city decision-making. | 