Cybersecurity Monitoring Best Practices: A Kansas 911 Case Study

The Kansas 911 Coordinating Council oversees the delivery of NG9-1-1 services to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) across Kansas. As part of its mission, the Council develops strategies to enhance the state’s 911 system. A critical aspect of this mission is protecting the integrity of mission-critical communications, ensuring the security and reliability of the state’s 911 infrastructure. 

Kansas’ current call-handling network provider is contractually responsible for securing the 911 system network. The provider consistently delivered excellent service without any cyber incidents, enabling the Council to meet compliance requirements. However, their proprietary security design limited transparency, as the system details were unavailable for the Council to review. To ensure confidence in the network’s security posture, the Council’s Technical/Security Committee recommended engaging an independent third party to monitor and evaluate the provider’s cybersecurity measures. 

The Kansas 911 Coordinating Council issued an RFP for network monitoring, considering several key factors in their selection process. It was essential that the chosen cybersecurity solution would not disrupt the performance of existing systems. SecuLore’s CyberSight™, a passive, non-agent-based cybersecurity monitoring solution, met this requirement. Unlike other security tools, CyberSight™ operates without impacting network performance, a feature that earned the approval of the Council’s call-handling network provider. 

The Council’s decision to obtain independent third-party monitoring aligns with NIST 800-53 Rev. 5.1.1 best practices for security and privacy controls. Specifically, control CA-07 (01) recommends continuous monitoring by an independent assessor. Through SecuLore’s CyberSight™, the Council was able to validate the effectiveness of the security protocols implemented by their call-handling provider. 

“SecuLore’s solution allowed us to confirm what we hoped was true of our call handling network vendor and helped guide us through a very good conversation with them about how and when network equipment is updated.”

                      – Sherry Massey, GISP, Executive Director, Kansas 911 Coordinating Council

Continuous monitoring has strengthened the Kansas 911 network’s cybersecurity posture by providing ongoing insights and supporting informed, risk-based decision-making. This proactive approach ensures effective mitigation strategies and incident response planning. The interconnected, dynamic nature of mission-critical 911 systems makes them prime targets for cyber threats. By fostering collaboration and regular reporting, SecuLore equips the Kansas 911 Coordinating Council with actionable recommendations for mitigation and remediation, safeguarding the integrity of the state’s 911 system.