June 2021 Newsletter

In June, Indiana Office of Technology Chief Information Officer Tracy Barnes was a panelist at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce 2021 Cybersecurity Conference, speaking on what Indiana has accomplished in cybersecurity and how we continue to advance.

Along with Barnes, Dr. Connie Justice, Cybersecurity Chair, Purdue School of Engineering at IUPUI; and John Lucas, Vice President of Information Technology, Citizens Energy Group, spoke about the importance of public and private sector partnerships to combat cyberattacks.

Government (federal, state, local, and quasi-government agencies), military, academic institutions, non-profits, and businesses are working together more closely than ever before as cyber threats continue to increase, especially in light of the last year.

“We are building trust and need to continue doing so,” Lucas said.

Lucas added it’s all about being collaborative - the industry, the classroom and the government all working together.

“We truly need to work together so students are able to hit the ground running in their chosen cybersecurity field after school,” Justice noted.

Barnes echoed their statements, saying cybersecurity awareness is paramount.

“My role is not just to make sure our operations are effective, but also from a policy perspective, we need to make sure we’re getting information into the hands of the right people,” he said.

This includes a new that goes into effect July 1 requiring state entities and local governments to report attacks — including ransomware, denial-of-service, website defacements and zero-day exploits — to the Indiana Office of Technology within two business days of discovery. The law empowers the state to work more closely with those organizations on finding third-party vendors to work with.

“The bill has been a catalyst to increase the collaboration,” Barnes said. “It’s not an end-all be-all, but it’s policy to help shape the behavior and mindset of where things are going.”

To learn more about the new cyber incident reporting law, click here.

Users begin with an exploration of self-service opportunities before the option of chatting with a live agent is presented. Live chat is available during regular business hours. The entire bot interaction is given to the live agent, so they have the context of the requested assistance.

The key objectives of the chat initiative are:

Create a single source to connect the customer with IOT services and support.

Make finding IOT FAQs and User Documentation easier.

Provide simplified access to request new services or products: Mobile Phone, desktops, Firewalls, Account Requests, Billing Inquiries, and so much more.

Provide a self-paced solution that allows the customer to resolve common technical issues on their own. When that is not possible, customers can choose to connect with a live agent during standard business hours.

This mobile-friendly chatbot is located in the lower right-hand corner of your screen.

Please use this new agent for ALL of your needs and service requests. Anytime you think to call the IOT Help Desk, such as ordering a new service or fixing something that is not working correctly, try chatting with IOT instead.

Learn more here: https://www.in.gov/iot/chat/

The winners of the 2021 StateScoop 50 awards were recently announced, and the State of Indiana’s Chief Information Officer Tracy Barnes was named a GoldenGov: State Executive of the Year.

Now in their eighth year, the StateScoop 50 Awards honor the most innovative and influential projects in state government and the people with the passion and drive to advance the use of digital technology inside state agencies.

Since taking on the role as Chief Information Officer and director of the Indiana Office of Technology in March 2020, Barnes has played a huge role in the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and advancing cybersecurity.

“I am humbled to have been chosen for this award and am so proud of the work my team has done in response to the global pandemic,” Barnes said. “This award shines a light on the determination and amazing work the State of Indiana and the Office of Technology have done in this unprecedented time and I am honored to be able to lead them.”

Jen Cooper, State Ethics Director for the Indiana Office of Inspector General (OIG) and State Ethics Commission won State Up & Comer of the Year.

She won for leveraging technology so OIG staff were able to continue their confidential advising and investigative duties remotely and responsibly without missing a beat.

Winners were then featured in Q&A interviews by StateScoop. Find Tracy’s here: https://statescoop.com/bio/tracy-barnes-cio-indiana/.

In partnership with the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and the Office of Work-Based Learning & Apprenticeship (OWBLA), the first two associates have graduated from the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) State Earn and Learn (SEAL) program and are hired as IOT employees. The SEAL Program focuses on training and preparing participants who are looking to change their career path and enter the IT field.

“This program is a way to bring people in who are interested in the Information Technology field and train them for certifications for meaningful IT careers,” IOT Chief Information Officer Tracy Barnes said. “I commend our new IOT employees on a job well done and I wish them success and continued professional growth in state government!”

Launching the first ever state-agency-certified SEAL program, IOT onboarded its first two associates on March 23, 2020.  After a 14-month period spent acquiring the skills and certifications needed to be successful in IT, one SEAL is now working to build and distribute equipment and the other is a junior security engineer.

“Truly, the success of the program reflects on our inaugural graduates’ outstanding achievement, and they’ve helped to open the door for others to follow in their footsteps,” Jon Rogers, IOT Director of Strategic Workforce Planning, said.

There are two phases to the SEAL program. Phase One covers the first three months, in which associates receive mentorship and coaching; learn the fundamentals of state agency customer service; and earn the CompTIA A+ certification in IT. In Phase Two, associates gain a deeper understanding of the agency business goals and objectives and conduct hands-on work with a team, all while pursuing IT certifications meaningful for their new roles in the organization.

Rogers agrees the SEAL program is a great opportunity for associates to have new and different opportunities in the IT field and hopes to one day be able to provide IT workers across our state agencies a program like this SEAL endeavor.

Interested in partnering with our agency to expand this program? Reach out to Jon Rogers at jrogers1@iot.in.gov. For more information and continuous updates on the SEAL program, visit the website here: https://www.in.gov/iot/seal/.

Are you hosting a big event or conference with external invitees but want to facilitate some collaboration in smaller groups? In the January IOT Connections issue, there was an article about Microsoft Teams’ breakout rooms - designed to divide your big meetings into smaller groups to facilitate brainstorming and more focused discussion. The Indiana Office of Technology now offers a similar feature for Cisco WebEx called breakout sessions.

Meetings with dozens of attendees are great for updates, but when you want time for creativity, brainstorming, and better focus, both of these new options give you the room you need to speak up and share your ideas.

You can break out to 50 rooms in Microsoft Teams. The organizer of the big meeting then assigns all attendees to their designated room. Currently, only the organizer can set up who is in each room, and he or she can only assign the person to the group while the meeting is going on. However, in the future the capability of assigning people into their rooms before the meeting will be available.

All other functionalities of a regular Teams meeting are available in the rooms. You can record, chat, add files, take notes, and share your screen.

For a step-by-step guide on how to set up Breakout rooms, click here.

You can create up to 100 breakout sessions in WebEx Training, with up to 100 people in each breakout session.

Hosts can pre-assign and assign rooms, add or remove members on the fly, mute individuals, move attendees between rooms and more. The organizer can also assign privileges to attendees, allowing them to create their own breakout sessions.

For a step-by-step guide on how to set up Breakout sessions, click here.