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December 2024
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Upcoming Events
State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council Meeting
Dec. 19, 2024
Oregon Geographic Information Council (OGIC) Meeting
Jan. 29, 2025
About EIS
Enterprise Information Services ensures accessible, reliable and secure state technology systems that equitably serve Oregonians.
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Stay Alert, Stay Informed, and Stay Secure
Social engineering is a significant cybersecurity threat, exploiting human psychology to manipulate individuals into compromising security. To safeguard critical data, one must understand the threats and implement defensive strategies. Social engineers use methods like phishing emails, deceptive texts, or impersonating phone calls to trick victims into revealing sensitive information or clicking harmful links.
They aim to gain trust to exploit individuals rather than systems.
Be Skeptical - Verify Requests - Think Before Clicking - Protect Personal Information - Secure Devices and Accounts - Report Suspicious Activity - Stay Informed
By being vigilant and proactive, you can effectively counteract social engineering threats and maintain a secure information environment.
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Clean Water State Revolving Fund
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program functions as an environmental infrastructure bank, offering below-market rate loans for eligible water infrastructure projects.
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) uses a cycle of repaying and re-lending, ensuring funds "revolve" at the state level, supporting ongoing water quality improvements.
CWSRF project eligibilities include measures to increase the security of publicly owned treatment works.
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Welcome New CIO
December 1, the Oregon Department of Energy welcomed a new Chief Information Officer (CIO), Jeff Carmon.
Jeff was the CIO for Eastern Oregon University for the past 10 years. His interests include playing bass guitar in a classic rock cover band and paddleboarding in Oregon's beautiful lakes and rivers.
EIS, as well as Assistant State CIO for Natural Resources Faheem Quadri, are excited to work with Jeff and welcome him!
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Look on Bright Side
While it may be the shortest day of the year and tends to be a little cold, December 21 is not only the winter solstice but also Look on the Bright Side Day.
While the winter solstice is not the only reason to be festive in December, it is also nothing new. Humans started celebrating the winter solstice in about 10,200 B.C. as a cause for celebration of the sun’s impending return.
If you look on the bright side, you try to be cheerful about a bad situation by thinking of some advantages that could result from it or thinking that it is not as bad as it could have been. So, celebrate this day by being optimistic and count your blessings, it is good for us!
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The Oregon Emerging Technology Summit was held on December 11 was a sold-out event tailored for state, regional, and local public sector leadership. Delving into the transformative potential of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), attendees gained invaluable insights into how emerging technologies can enhance the lives of community members.
AI provides us with an incredible opportunity to change lives for the better but requires us to set ethical guardrails and foster trust. Throughout the day, attendees heard about how innovation is not just about adopting the latest tools; it's about embedding equity, transparency, and community at the heart of everything we do.
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Doug Toomey, the Director of the Oregon Hazards Lab (OHAZ) at the University of Oregon, gave a presentation to the attendees of the Oregon Emerging Technology Summit on December 11 highlighting the work of the lab.
OHAZ operates a high-speed camera network that gives firefighters a new way to spot and track wildfires utilizing AI-enabled systems. Cameras are typically installed on tall mountains or high-rise buildings with 360-degree views of the surrounding landscape, enabling fire managers to watch the landscape, fire behavior, and weather in real-time or later through time-lapse footage.
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“Building on Progress”, the title of Governor Tina Kotek’s budget recommendations for the 2025-27 biennium have been released with the focus of Oregon’s biggest challenges remaining on housing and homelessness, education and early learning, and behavioral health.
As a follow through from Governor Kotek's first Budget "Mission Focused", the Governor’s Recommended Budget (GRB) for 2025-2027 shows the approach to executive actions, budget and policy with an emphasis on transparency, accountability, and customer service is showing progress on issues of top concern for Oregonians.
The Governor’s approach to budgeting will always be grounded in truth, pragmatism, and a relentless pursuit of equitable outcomes for all Oregonians. The GRB reflects an Oregon that welcomes everyone and is accountable to our shared values.
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On December 11, Oregon State Chief Information Officer (CIO) Terrence Woods testified before the Joint Committee on Information Management and Technology to provide two separate updates on work that is happening in technology in the state.
Mr. Woods discussed IT Strategic Planning in line with the Governor's expectations, the Assistant State CIO's (ASCIO) engagement with the agencies, and IT Strategic Plan transparency.
Secondly, Mr. Woods, along with the State Chief Data Officer Kathryn Darnal Helms, provided an update on the Oregon State Government Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council work to deliver a recommended action plan to the Governor. The meeting was recorded and can be viewed to see the updates.
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Oregon Completes Successful Modernization of the State's Email Infrastructure
The M365 Program successfully decommissioned the state’s on-premises email infrastructure on November 21, 2024, achieving a critical milestone in modernizing the state’s enterprise email technology. This project transitioned 46 agencies off the legacy email services to the M365 platform, reduces operational complexity, and enhances the security and reliability of enterprise and agency email services. Another benefit includes ending lifecycle replacement of dedicated primary and backup redundancy hardware.
This achievement reflects outstanding communication and collaboration between Enterprise Information Services (EIS), agencies, and the skill of IT teams throughout the state.
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