The Durant City Council convened last week to provide updates on two significant topics: a recent cybersecurity incident and the outcomes of the Durant Sports Festival. The meeting highlighted the community's ability to adapt amidst challenges and celebrate achievements.
On June 1, the City of Durant experienced a ransomware attack that severely impacted its operations. In the wake of the attack, City Manager Pam Polk reported that they swiftly began collaborating with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to mitigate the damage and restore services.
"Approximately 90 percent of city servers are back online," Polk stated, offering a glimmer of hope regarding the city’s recovery.
"Approximately 90 percent of city servers are back online,"
However, some departments are still grappling with the aftermath of the attack. Polk noted that the fire department is awaiting the return of Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) integration. "We’ve all been on the paper system," she explained. "We had to go back old school to do everything. So, utilities department went out and bought receipt books. Of course, we couldn’t take online payments, but everybody has worked so hard."
Acknowledging the arduous nature of recovery, Polk expressed gratitude for the city's workforce. "Kudos to all of our employees who have worked through all of this. It’s still a trying time and we’re still going through it... we have experienced significant data loss. Right now, we have one more place to look to try to find some of the data that we stored on the shared drive."
Polk emphasized that while the process is challenging, the city remains committed to improving its cybersecurity measures. "We’re actively working with a backup software vendor to retrieve data," she said. "That’s the one place that we still have that we might can find some data."
"We’re actively working with a backup software vendor to retrieve data,"
Looking Ahead
Looking Ahead
Looking Ahead
In an effort to bolster future defenses, Polk announced plans for enhanced backup solutions, including offsite and cloud backup options. She indicated that network security enhancements are set to unfold over the next six to eight weeks.
Echoing concerns for other municipalities, Mayor Martin Tucker commented on the broader implications of such attacks. "One of the questions I get is are we going to pay the ransom and the answer’s no," Tucker said emphatically. "I don’t even know if they ever gave us a ransom demand. If they did, I’m not aware of it. One of the things I share with Pam occasionally, we will be better off on the other side, but gosh, it’s also unpleasant to go through."
"One of the questions I get is are we going to pay the ransom and the answer’s no,"
In addition to the cybersecurity issues, the meeting also celebrated the success of the Durant Sports Festival. Parks and Recreation Manager Ryan Brewer shared insights on the festival's growth, noting, "For the past year, we have been planning, organizing the second annual Durant Sports Festival. We ended up with 20 organizations, businesses, community leaders, and local organizers to plan the biggest sports and rec festival in the nation. The outcome was way beyond what I expected for year two."
The festival commenced on May 29 at the Magnolia Festival with a screening of the film "8 Seconds" and concluded a month later with a rugby tournament on June 29. Brewer highlighted the variety of activities, which included 45 different events across the city, featuring competitions in sports ranging from rugby to fishing, disc golf to rodeo.
Career Journey
Career Journey
"Participants and attendees had the opportunity to attend 45 different events all throughout the city," Brewer recounted. "This year, we had 6,887 participants, with almost 21,000 attendees in town for the festival, compared to 8,000 last year." The growth was notable, with participation numbers soaring from 3,779 to nearly 7,000 this year.
"Participants and attendees had the opportunity to attend 45 different events all throughout the city,"
Looking Ahead
Brewer is optimistic about the festival's future, stating that they plan to build upon this year's success. "We’re going to keep building because I won’t lie, I’m going to be a little upset if these cities double or triple our size get an award for my idea," he said. He also noted that the event had gained national recognition, being featured among the top 25 National Parks award for health and well-being and the top 100 for equity and inclusion. Brewer expressed eagerness for future innovations as the festival continues to gain traction on both local and national stages.
"We’re going to keep building because I won’t lie, I’m going to be a little upset if these cities double or triple our size get an award for my idea,"
As Durant navigates the challenges posed by cyber threats while celebrating community triumphs like the Sports Festival, the steadfast resolve of its leaders and citizens underscores the importance of resilience. Looking forward, the city is expected to enhance its security infrastructure while continuing to foster community spirit through events that bring citizens together.
