Genesee County Information Technology

Michael Burns is one of those guys who is often behind the scenes, making sure that all systems are working smoothly and nothing dastardly or mischievous gets into foul things up for Genesee County.

He takes his job seriously — so much, in fact, that he sends tester emails to colleagues to see if they will open them up. Every now and then, a county employee will comment that he or she was tempted to open an odd email but thought better of it, also thinking that maybe it was sent from Burns.

Of course, by now, everyone should know not to open up a strange, random or otherwise questionable email.

And Burns, who was hired as director of Information Technology in May 2021, has been beating that drum, along with sharing other important cybersecurity reminders, ever since he took the job. 

After all, “we are more wired than ever before,” he has said. 

On Wednesday, the county Legislature acknowledged the vital role of those like Burns and proclaimed the month of October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. 

Legislator Chad Klotzbach represented the group as information technology liaison for the state Association of Counties Information Technology Task Force. The proclamation states:

WHEREAS, in today’s world we are more interconnected that ever before yet for all of its

advantages, increased connectivity brings increased risk of theft, fraud and abuse, and

WHEREAS, as Genesee County and its citizens become more reliant on modern

technology we also become more vulnerable to cyberattacks such as security breaches,

spear phishing and social media fraud, and

WHEREAS, Genesee County Information Technology Department is responsible for

delivering secure, accurate, timely information and services to County departments, municipalities, residents and visitors effectively and efficiently, and

WHEREAS, Genesee County IT employees, consultants and vendors institute best practices and utilize available resources, and

WHEREAS, cybersecurity month provides an opportunity to increase public awareness and understanding of cyber threats while empowering employees and citizens to be safer and more secure online. Now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, the Genesee County Legislature does hereby proclaim the Month of October as Cybersecurity Month and encourages all citizens to recognize that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility in which we all have a role to play.

In addition to monitoring the county’s overall cybersecurity and other technology systems, Burns has also been involved in a project to install fiber cable from County Building 2 on Route 5 to Emergency Management Services on State Street Road and from County Building 2 to Genesee County Airport at 4701 East Saile Drive. 

The Information Technology website has several resources, from affordable Internet service providers to tips for password security, multi-factor authentication, dealing with ransomware, phishing awareness, how to keep kids safe online, and other topics. 

There’s even a Kids Safe Online poster contest.

Genesee County officials are looking to add more fiber.

Fiber cable, that is. Genesee County obtained estimates from Empire Access for installing one strand of fiber, each, from County Building 2 on Route 5 to Emergency Management Services at 7690 State Street Rd., and from County Building 2 to Genesee County Airport, 4701 East Saile Drive. All locations are located in the town of Batavia.

The county attorney and Ways & Means Committee reviewed the proposal made by Director of Information Technology Michael Burns and recommended the move.

Burns said the cost would be $3,000 for each installation, with two 36-month lease agreements with the Plattsburgh-based company. Each lease is $500 per month and is to take effect from July 1, 2022, through July 31, 2025.

The county’s IT Department will request a total budget transfer of $12,000 ($6,000 to cover each connection) to cover the monthly and installation charges for each of the two strands of fiber, the resolution states.

“The company still has a few radio systems in place for providing Internet service and communication to our data centers,” Burns said.

Harder fibers can “very aggressively pair with running fiber to our buildings,” he said. Empire Access offered solutions for both installations, and for less money than the county was paying last year, he said.

Burns also proposed retaining SpyGlass Group, LLC to audit the county’s phone and Internet system for potential savings. There’s no money required upfront, and SpyGlass makes its money only if it finds and recommends potential savings measures.

“And what they do is they look at the internet consulting contracts that companies or other businesses have in place and refer opportunities to save money,” Burns said. “So what they will do is they're going to look at our past bills and see what we overpaid … they will also then go through our sales to see if there's any possible consequence or the number of bills or things, that we can do better.”

There will be no cost upfront, he said, as the company makes money only if the county adopts any of the recommended strategies.

“Let’s hope they find some savings for us,” Legislator Marianne Clattenburg said.

Pledging to fortify security measures while maintaining a user-friendly environment for employees and residents alike, Genesee County Information Technology Director Michael Burns on Wednesday updated Ways & Means Committee members on his department’s objectives for 2022.

“My goal for Genesee County is to not only support the infrastructure that we already have but do things that our employees see – to see what we’re doing – and doing things that the public sees … seeing that we do things the right way,” said Burns, who was hired in May 2021 after a 20-plus year career at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Burns said he doesn’t want IT to be a “barrier” to employees in the county’s 31 departments and agencies.

“IT is there to support what they want to do,” he said. “We don’t want to be the department of ‘no.’”

Burns, in his written report, outlined some of the things he’s looking to accomplish this year without (for security reasons) getting into too much detail:

• Integrate the Department of Social Services into the county’s IT structure, giving DSS employees the same permissions as county personnel.

• Continue to focus on cybersecurity as external threats continue to pose a significant risk to systems availability and data integrity. Use operating and grant funds to procure software/hardware that supports the inclusion of a cloud-based strategy, continued end-user training, system log reviews, vulnerability scanning, data classification and patch management.

• Continue to review and update data recovery solutions the county uses in case of natural disaster, computer virus or ransomware.

• Support departments’ staffing needs as staff may have to change to working remotely with very little warning. This includes the expanded use of video conferencing and the ability to connect from anywhere at any time, which creates the request for added laptops and phones.

• Review internal support processes and, where feasible and cost effective, enter into more managed services agreements that offload work from the in-house technical staff.

Previously: Batavia resident accepts Genesee County information technology director position after long career at RIT