Cybersecurity
Between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, NDIT Cybersecurity has:
- Prevented or detected 572,945,827 (573M) threats to the state network (STAGENet).
- Provided continuous monitoring of the state network (STAGENet) which serves over 250,000 (250k) devices daily.
- Resolved 53,159 (53K) security incidents.
- Ingested over 5TB (Terabytes) of data daily for analysis by cybersecurity tools.
- Provided security awareness training to over 9,000 state employees.
- Presented or participated in panel discussions at over 50 events, including national, regional, and local cybersecurity conferences, media engagements, and session with K-12 schools, cities, counties, and local water districts.
- Provided vulnerability scanning services to state agencies, counties, cities, and K-12 schools to identify 250,000+ vulnerabilities each month.
- Conducted 11 penetration tests to identify and address security vulnerabilities across critical systems.
- Facilitated 4 purple team exercises to enhance collaboration between offensive and defensive security teams and strengthen our defenses.
- Fulfilled 326 threat intelligence requests, providing critical analysis and insights to support leadership, risk assessments, vulnerability assessments, emerging cyber threats, and incident response efforts.
- Published 4,784 (4.7k) events, including 21,737 (22k) indicators of compromise, to the Joint Cybersecurity Operations Center (J-CSOC) community. Published events include incident summaries along with detailed indicators, attributes, and contextual information to enhance cybersecurity awareness amongst partner states.
- Delivered monthly briefings to state, county, city, K-12, and higher education stakeholders, covering emerging threats, tactics, techniques, procedures (TTPs), and newly exploited vulnerabilities.
- Issued 200+ compromise notifications and vulnerability alerts to public and private entities across North Dakota and nationwide in support of critical infrastructure.
- Performed risk assessments on 372 third-party vendors and 166 systems and applications hosting or transmitting state data to ensure proper controls are implemented to safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, availability and privacy of citizen data.
- Supported multiple internships and apprenticeships, fostering the development of the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
CyberShield 2024
NDIT Cyber Operations team participated in CyberShield 2024, a premier cybersecurity exercise conducted by the National Guard in collaboration with industry partners, government agencies, and international allies. This annual event focused on enhancing cyber capabilities, building partnerships, and strengthening the nation’s cyber posture. This year’s event specifically emphasized defending operational technology against a cyber-attack on a critical infrastructure network. Over 800 National Guard airmen, soldiers, and partners from 36 states and five partner nations participated in the exercise.
Project Highlights
AI Policy
- The official NDIT AI Policy and Guidelines was published. This comprehensive document outlines our approach, principles, and best practices when it comes to harnessing the power of artificial intelligence.
- NDIT presented the policy to numerous agencies to support the use of AI and using the data classification policy as guardrails for ethical, privacy, and security considerations.
State Interoperability Radio Network
Public safety agencies in 5 areas across the state have successfully migrated to the Statewide Interoperable Radio Network (SIRN), over the next three years the remaining agencies across the entire state will follow.
The first users of SIRN went live with new, feature rich and resilient network providing the public safety community with a communications network they require. Also implemented a new computer aided dispatch solution provided for the state public safety officials enabling a feature rich platform for years to come.
Upgraded the next gen 911 core infrastructure to ensure the highly reliable and resilient requirements of the 911 solution are maintained.
Significant progress has been made in rolling out encryption, centralized radio management, and addressing processes and procedures for support and maintenance of the system.
State Website platform 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline
All cabinet agencies had a new feature added to their websites within the first week of February. For desktop displays nd.gov websites will have a new 988 icon within the social media icon area.
About 988 and why It’s important
- People can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.
- 988 serves as a universal entry point so that no matter where you live in the United States, you can reach a caring, trained counselor who can help.
- 988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. That could include thoughts of suicide, mental health or substance use crises or emotional distress.
Service Desk
- Incidents resolved by all NDIT groups - 96,454
- Incidents resolved buy the Service Desk - 43,718
- Requests completed by NDIT - 57,508
- Average Customer Satisfaction - 9.6
Other Accomplishments
During the 23-24 half of the biennium, NDIT-EduTech provided over 1,100 professional learning sessions to 12,000 participants with 30,000 hours of professional learning impact.
The NDIT EUCC team embarked on a mass maintenance project, updating BIOS for a whopping 6000 devices. While it may sound like a routine task, let me assure you, it was anything but ordinary!
- These updates are vital for ensuring our systems remain secure and efficient. BIOS updates may not directly boost performance, but they're crucial for fixing bugs, enhancing compatibility, and addressing security vulnerabilities. The EUCC team meticulous planned and tested for this maintenance since November 2023, including trials with 400+ machines. This preparation ensured a smooth execution with minimal incidents.
The Systems Infrastructure Team achieved a significant milestone in February by successfully remediating 750 Silverlight vulnerabilities on Windows servers. This accomplishment is crucial for NDIT as it ensures enhanced security and stability across our infrastructure, safeguarding our systems and data from potential threats.
The RPA team has successfully completed Phase 1 of the project aimed at automating data entry tasks into MMIS. This achievement not only streamlines our processes but also saves DHHS thousands of dollars in labor costs every month by leveraging automation.
- By using a BOT to enter information into MMIS and seamlessly passing back the QSP Provider number to the corresponding Service Now record, we have significantly reduced manual effort and improved efficiency.
Data Literacy Course
- Launched the Data Literacy Course to Team ND to help team members:
- Learn why data literacy is important for everyone in how we make decisions.
- Practice how to read data, charts and graphs critically, for clearer interpretation and decision making.
- Gain the skills to communicate data effectively and accurately for meaningful interpretation.
DOT website uplift
The dot.nd.gov website uplift was been completed successfully as part of the Department of Transportation's Website Uplift program. This milestone, achieved on January 11th, 2024, marks a significant step forward in our digital transformation journey.
- Our dedicated Scrum Teams 4 & 5 played a crucial role in this achievement, ensuring a smooth deployment while reducing tech debt and decommissioning legacy web applications and processes.
Public Safety Team
- State Radio's CAD system Upgrade - The Public Safety Team completed a complex project involving the upgrade of the State Radio's CAD system. Over the 14-month implementation period, the team identified and reported over 500 issues to the vendor, showcasing commitment to maintaining a robust and efficient system.
- Ice Jam Dislodging Efforts - The Public Safety team set up the live camera feed to monitor the ice jam dislodging efforts on the Missouri River. Thanks to their contributions, agencies could closely monitor the progress in real-time, ultimately leading to the successful reduction of overflows.
NDHIN
North Dakota Health Information Network (NDHIN) is the statewide health information exchange which promotes interoperability between health care organizations. In 2024, NDHIN has grown to include over 350 participating organizations, over 5500 users, 650 data feeds, and 1.57 million unique patient IDs.
In 2024, NDHIN continued to collaborate with ND Department of Health & Human Services to further develop a module which assists with the Newborn Screening Program. The module development included completion of the clinical pathway and development of a new dashboard.
NDIT K12 Accomplishments 2023-2024
2024 IgniteND Conference
On June 4-6 2024, NDIT-EduTech’s IgniteND conference brought together nearly 350 educators, tech coordinators, administrators, and other stakeholders to advance technology education in North Dakota. Utilizing education grants from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, the first 300 attendees were able to register for free, ensuring broad participation.
Attendees benefited from a range of resources, including $500 stipends for teachers, credentials for teaching computer science & cyber security, and educational materials such as Microbits kits for STEM education. This year’s conference placed a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), and how to integrate it into K12 curriculums. This aligns with ongoing efforts by NDIT-EduTech to prepare educators for the educational impact of AI.
Twelve presenters from the North Dakota Information Technology Department (NDIT) shared their expertise, contributing significantly to the conference’s success. Their presentations underscored the practical applications of AI in education, techniques for technology management, security services available to strengthen North Dakota K12, and credentialing educators to teach computer science and cybersecurity related courses in their schools.
Cyber Madness
EduTech annually hosts two computer science/cybersecurity competitions designed to challenge students and provide opportunities for scholarships and skill development in this critical field.
The middle school competition involved 35 teams competing in the play-in rounds on November 3rd 2023, with 11 teams advancing to the finals held at the University of Mary on November 17, 2023. The winners were:
- 1st place: Oakes Public School "Tornadoes"
- 2nd place: St. John’s Academy "Junior Whoppers"
- 3rd place: St. John’s Academy "Team Watermelon
Each member of the top three winning middle school teams took home a scholarship worth $500, $300, and $100 respectively.
The high school competition took place at Bismarck State College on February 15-16, 2024, in partnership with Palo Alto Networks. Out of 20 teams in the finals, the winners were:
- 1st place: Grand Forks Red River "Roughriders"
- 2nd place: Bismarck High School "Hactivists"
- 3rd place: Hankinson "Pirate Blue"
Each member of the top three winning high school teams took home a scholarship worth $1,000, $500, and $250 respectively.
ClassLink
EduTech has facilitated the implementation of ClassLink in school districts across North Dakota to enhance security, privacy, and efficiency in educational technology usage, while also empowering district leaders to make data-driven decisions. ClassLink offers:
- A single sign-on dashboard to simplify access to educational technology tools, thereby saving time for teachers, students, and parents.
- Analytics on tool usage by the district, school, classroom, and student, aiding educators and leaders in making informed decisions regarding educational tools.
- Best practices for security, including secure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
Currently, 85 school districts, representing 72% of North Dakota K12 students, are either using or in the process of onboarding to use ClassLink.