Local government has continued to expand in the digital age far beyond traditional service delivery – county leaders must now be prepared to manage and communicate through complex, high-stakes emergencies like cyberattacks, which seem to have increased year after year.
County governments rely heavily on technology to deliver essential services and manage things like resident data, all while the financial, operational, and reputational risks of a ransomware attack grow more severe. That’s where Ransomware Reality: Communicating Through a Cyberattack – An Interactive Exercise comes in.
This hands-on session is directly aligned with MACo’s 2025 Summer Conference theme – Funding the Future: The Evolving Role of Local Government – because it addresses the evolving expectations and responsibilities counties face in this cyber age. Participants can look forward to gaining real-world insights into managing crisis communications during a cyber attack. Led by a team of experts from county government and the Maryland Department of Emergency Management, this session promises to deliver.
Ransomware Reality: Communicating Through a Cyberattack – An Interactive Exercise
This interactive tabletop exercise will immerse participants in a real-world cyber incident response scenario, simulating the decision-making process for communicating across departments, to residents, and with the media during a county-wide emergency. Working in groups, participants will navigate the “Phantom Phish” cyberattack – a coordinated phishing and ransomware incident that disrupted county operations, locked critical systems, and threatened the integrity of resident data. Participants will make decisions on the who, what, when, and how for communications efforts around the crisis and share brief summaries of their strategies. Finally, expert speakers will present firsthand insights on what worked, what didn’t, and lessons learned, offering practical takeaways for elected officials and professionals to strengthen future cyber response communication efforts.
Speakers:
- Renesha Alphonso, Director of Communications, Anne Arundel County
- Anna Sierra, Assistant Secretary, Strategy & External Affairs, MD Dept of Emergency Management
- Taylor Munir, Local Cyber Preparedness Coordinator, MD Dept of Emergency Management
- Travis Brown, Public Information Officer, Health Department, Worcester County
- Robert Kelly, Chief Information Officer, St. Mary’s County
Moderator: The Honorable Paul Edwards, Commissioner Chair, Garrett County
Date/Time: Friday, August 15, 2025; 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: Room 205
MACo’s Summer Conference, “Funding the Future: The Evolving Role of Local Government,” takes place August 13–16, 2025, at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, Maryland. For more information, visit the conference website.
Learn more about MACo’s Summer Conference:
