Mar-Apr, 2020 | Vol. 12, Issue 2
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This year's showcase award
could have your name on it
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When we launched GTA’s
Technology Innovation Showcase
back in 2012, we knew we were onto something good. We'd seen agencies and local government entities statewide doing innovative IT work. And when they sent their showcase submissions and described how they were using technology to meet Georgians' needs, our high expectations for the new recognition program felt justified. The quality and quantity of projects submitted have only grown in the years since.
For the ninth consecutive year, we're sponsoring the showcase, which recognizes outstanding IT projects and the teams behind them. Projects changing the way government does business.
We're accepting nominations through March 20
, and I hope we'll hear from you.
Every year our evaluation panel selects projects that better enable agencies to serve constituents, operate efficiently, and conserve tax dollars. Entrants document how they've innovatively addressed a business problem. They're also asked how their projects improve the way agencies work, enhance service delivery, and avoid unnecessary expense.
Projects chosen for the showcase will be honored at the annual Georgia Digital Government Summit. The awards ceremony has even become a highlight of the summit. Showcase honorees will also be included in the Annual State IT Report, and they'll be considered for submission to NASCIO’s State IT Recognition Awards, the Technology Association of Georgia's Excalibur Awards, and others.
Our showcase continues to spotlight the kind of work that makes Georgia a leader in using technology for more responsive, efficient and accountable government. We're pleased to honor deserving public-sector IT professionals for their contributions to our communities and our state.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Calvin Rhodes
State Chief Information Officer
GTA Executive Director
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Georgia's new GovHub digital platform
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Cybersecurity awareness training plan for 2020
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What happens inside the Georgia Cyber Center
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Briefly … Technology Summit 2020, Annual IT Report
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We built this digital city ...
with
the people
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Mark it complete two months ahead of schedule – the migration of 77 state agency websites to GovHub, the state’s new digital platform. GTA's Digital Services Georgia (DSGa) team set out last April to make it happen, finishing in January. From the start, an unwavering commitment from, and collaboration with, affected agencies fueled progress. GovHub truly was built
with
the people.
This was far from what IT folks call a “lift and shift." The new web publishing platform is indeed built on Drupal, an open source solution the state has used for several years. But work didn't stop at simply redesigning websites to suit an updated version of Drupal. This was more ambitious – a wholesale re-imagining of how Georgia government information is shared with constituents.
The vision-setting began in 2018. The state's Chief Digital Officer Nikhil Deshpande and the team, along with private-sector partners, committed to working with Georgians across the state to understand what they expect from their interactions with government. The team researched how the look, feel and content of a digital experience might play into delivery of government services.
Taking what they learned, they developed a new visual identity for Georgia state government, applying unified branding across agency websites. So, for citizens seeking services as varied as fishing licenses to auto tag renewals to vital records, state government web pages share a common look. Plus, they continue to comply with the latest accessibility, security, and performance standards.
Digital content isn’t static. Readying agencies to use the new platform was then critical throughout the project. The DSGa team hosted dozens of training sessions attended by 200 web content managers from agencies. And ongoing education outreach helps keep agency users current on digital standards, user testing, and best practices.
Fast on the heels of constructing GovHub, two additional agencies are joining the new platform, and an overhaul is planned for Georgia.gov, the state’s official website. Here too there's emphasis on making state services and information easy to find,
for
the people.
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Persistent threat prompts new round of cybersecurity training
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Cyber threats don't let up, so neither can our defense. That includes continuing to help state government employees stay cyber alert and aware. Theirs is a critical part in broader efforts to safeguard systems and data.
Georgia's State Government Systems Cybersecurity Board has issued
cybersecurity awareness training
requirements for calendar year 2020 for all staff at executive branch agencies. These include two training segments (security essentials and social engineering) in first quarter 2020. Employees are to complete the online training modules by March 31.
Mock phishing exercises are also planned later this year to test employees' readiness to avoid being tripped by potentially fraudulent emails. A second batch of training segments will be released in the second half of the year.
New guidance from the Cybersecurity Board stipulates all new hires at executive branch agencies will complete ransomware and phishing-related training in the first three months of their employment. These are the foundational segments first required of state employees last year.
Governor Kemp’s August 2019
Executive Order
mandated semi-annual cybersecurity awareness training for employees in all Georgia executive branch agencies. Last fall nearly 75,000 employees from more than 100 agencies were set up for online training. By year's end, 95 percent of employees had completed the required training (delivered by GTA). Agencies continue to address any gaps.
The board has this year also encouraged agencies to: 1) update email systems to current cloud-based versions, 2) maintain currency in operating systems, 3) ensure use of multi-factor authentication for remote access, and 4) limit administrator access to computing devices and networks.
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A look inside a corner of the Georgia Cyber Center
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We've all had that one, wacky neighbor. The kind who brings a dose of unpredictability and fun to a community. At the Georgia Cyber Center in Augusta, some would say Defense Digital Systems
is
that neighbor. They are, after all, probably the only tenant of the Cyber Center routinely using
Star Wars
movie lingo in work discussions. True, only a few of them have completed advanced Jedi training (see films for explanation). But across their teams, they've adopted and adapted some futuristic
Star Wars
themes and weaved them into a culture of innovation.
A self-described “SWAT team of nerds,” Defense Digital Service applies technology in novel ways to tackle problems at the federal Department of Defense. Everything from developing drone detection technologies, to rethinking training for cyber soldiers, to improving systems that serve veterans and their families. The team includes world-class designers, engineers, product managers, and bureaucracy hackers who sign up for limited “tours of duty.”
The group is housed at the Pentagon, and now they’ve established a satellite office at the Georgia Cyber Center. They call their new outpost Tatooine (more
Star Wars
). They’ve partnered at the center with other tenants, and with GTA’s Office of Information Security, in exactly the kind of cutting-edge activity envisioned for the facility.
They’re helping bring life (and a bit of adventure) to the center as a forum for exchange, creation, incubation and education among the public- and private-sector cybersecurity communities.
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- Slated for May 18, this year's GTA-sponsored Technology Summit will explore digitizing services to help agencies serve citizens better and more efficiently. Agencies agree, digital services are what their constituents expect. We’ll describe a vision of how digitally-enabled services might look in the near future, show how others are going digital today, and dive into some related challenges like cloud computing, cybersecurity and more. The full-day summit is once again directed toward IT and business leaders from Georgia's state government agencies and will be held in Atlanta at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center. Market-leading service providers will discuss state-of-the-art use cases and solutions, with additional input from GTA leaders. The 2020 event, the ninth annual, will be offered at no charge for Georgia public-sector staff. For now, save the date. And stay tuned for more details, including registration information, coming soon.
- GTA recently published the Annual State IT Report and has made it available on the home page of GTA's website. The report highlights the considerable range of Georgia IT accomplishments in FY 2019. It addresses everything from bolstered cybersecurity initiatives, promotion of broadband services in rural Georgia, building the new Georgia GovHub digital platform, enhancements to the state's GETS shared IT services program, and Georgia's continuing national recognition as a leader in state government IT.
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