{"id":225625,"date":"2026-06-03T19:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/bowman-city-commission-confronts-local-cybersecurity-weaknesses-the-dickinson-press\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T19:40:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T23:40:13","slug":"bowman-city-commission-confronts-local-cybersecurity-weaknesses-the-dickinson-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/bowman-city-commission-confronts-local-cybersecurity-weaknesses-the-dickinson-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Bowman City Commission confronts local cybersecurity weaknesses – The Dickinson Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bowman City Commission confronts local cybersecurity weaknesses – The Dickinson Press<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.thedickinsonpress.com\/news\/local\/bowman-city-commission-confronts-local-cybersecurity-weaknesses<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-06-03 19:29:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.thedickinsonpress.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. <\/p>\n

DICKINSON \u2014 The Bowman City Commission held a regular meeting on Tuesday, June 2, where they confronted the city\u2019s cybersecurity weaknesses and watched a presentation from CyberNet Security about what they can do to be safer.The city commission made decisions on a variety of topics during their meeting such as addressing an application for a zone change, an event request and more. However, the most pressing issue brought before the commission was the cyberattack the Bowman Parks & Recreation faced.<\/p>\n

Dan Peterson, the director of the Bowman Parks & Recreation, told the commission about how the recent cyberattack left every file the department had encrypted and inaccessible. The attack had even affected any backup files the department had that were in thumb drives plugged into devices. While there was a message from the attacker with contact information about how to access the files again, Peterson was able to decrypt the files by taking the issue to an expert in Bismarck.\u201cThey didn\u2019t take the files\u2026 so we got lucky in that regard,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cWe had no idea what they wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Nagel, president of CyberNet Security, gave a presentation over Zoom discussing services to improve the City of Bowman\u2019s cybersecurity.Dorvall Bedford \/ The Dickinson Press<\/p>\n

Peterson explained to the commission that there several measures the Bowman Parks & Recreation could take to be safer from attacks. One of the main ways was having better passwords \u2014 Peterson described the department\u2019s passwords as being weak and incorporating predictable phrases.\u201cOur passwords were pathetic,\u201d Peterson said.John Nagel, president of CyberNet Security, gave a presentation over Zoom discussing what services his company could provide to improve the City of Bowman\u2019s cybersecurity. The offer was a three-year plan that would make a multitude of changes that could prevent successful cyberattacks.For example, Nagel explained that the first two years of his roadmap would provide cybersecurity and phishing training to every employee, which involve scoring each individual on how at risk they are to being cyberattacked. The third year would involve CyberNet Security reviewing the implemented security measures and providing additional ways to improve.On the topic of passwords, Nagel told the commission that nowadays passwords need to be at least 20 characters long and randomized\u2014the number of characters will continue to rise with the improvement of AI technology. Nagel suggested using password managers that store the various passwords employees would have to use.<\/p>\n

The three-year plan Nagel offered was not cheap. The first year would cost $18,000 while the second and third years would cost $11,000 and $12,000 respectively. Lyn James, president of the Bowman City Commission, was hesitant to make a decision that evening.\u201cThis is quite an investment,\u201d she said. \u201cI think we need to talk through this.\u201dJames expressed that the issue of cybersecurity was one that she didn\u2019t understand fully, but she felt as though this situation taught her a lot. While she sees the issue as important, she also doesn\u2019t want to spend money where it doesn\u2019t need to be spent.\u201cI\u2019m just going to be honest, this is way above my head,\u201d James said. \u201cIt scared me that we could be vulnerable\u2026 but I also think we need to do our own homework.\u201dThe rest of the commission agreed to wait before making a decision on Nagel\u2019s offer. They plan to discuss it further at their next meeting on June 16.<\/p>\n

Previously a freelance reporter based in Washington, D.C., Dorvall Bedford is from northern Maryland and studied journalism at the University of Maryland. He joined The Dickinson Press in March 2026.Dorvall\u2019s prior reporting involved covering arts and entertainment in and around Washington, including local music, photography and art exhibitions. He likes to cover events and stories not only because they\u2019re interesting but also to show that oftentimes the least discussed topics can be some of the most important. At The Dickinson Press, he hopes to serve his community by continuing to find the stories that aren\u2019t being told.Even outside of work, you can always find Dorvall documenting the world around him with a camera in his hands.Readers can reach Dorvall at (701) 456-1213 or dbedford@thedickinsonpress.com.Languages: English<\/p>\n

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