Information Security is important because it protects the County’s ability to function, enables the safe operation of appliances implemented on the County’s IT systems, protects the data used by the County, and safeguards technology. This Contract meets the needs of the Department’s Information Systems unit by providing virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO), services, hourly and project-based consultation, risk analysis and assessment, and technical assistance. In 2016, the Health Services Department solicited for an Information Security vendor who could provide consultation and technical assistance. From the responses received, Atredis Partners, LLC., was selected as an information security company who is considered a leader in the industry; with team members who have presented research over forty times at the BlackHat Briefings security conference in Europe, Japan and the United States. Their extensive list of projects includes working with the Department of Defense, and more recently with Google, and Apple, Inc., on a Covid-19 vaccination tracking tool.
On February 7, 2017, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #23-611, with Atredis Partners, LLC. in the amount of $160,000 for the provision of consultation and technical assistance with regard to the Department’s Information Systems unit security and compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) including meeting Federal, State, Local and Industry Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) assessments and audits for the period January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2019. On July 23, 2019, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract Amendment Agreement #23-611-1 to increase the payment limit by $430,000 to a new payment limit of $590,000, to provide additional consultation and technical assistance to the Department’s Information Systems unit, with no change in the term of January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2019.
On January 5, 2021, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #23-611-2 with Atredis Partners, LLC for the provision of consultation and technical assistance to the Department’s Information Systems unit, for the period from December 1, 2020, through December 31, 2023.
Approval of Contract Amendment Agreement #23-611-3 will allow the Contractor to provide additional consultation and technical assistance for the Health Services Department’s Information Systems unit through December 31, 2023.
If this contract is not approved, the Department’s Information Systems Unit would be more at risk of not meeting Federal, State, Local and Industry security standards, and network infrastructure vulnerability.