Chief Information Officer City of Saint Paul Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
In 2025, the City of Saint Paul faced a significant ransomware incident that disrupted core municipal systems and created immediate operational risk. Technology was important, but it was not the decisive factor in the response. Partnership was.
This session presents a practitioner-focused case study that frames cyber response as an emergency management challenge requiring leadership, coordination, and trusted relationships. Emergency management and information technology leadership aligned quickly because governance structures and working relationships were already established. Those partnerships expanded response capacity, clarified decision authority, and enabled coordinated action under pressure.
Speakers will focus on response operations rather than recovery alone. They will examine how teams built shared situational awareness, maintained transparency with executive leadership, and made time-sensitive decisions in a high-consequence environment. The session emphasizes the human dimension of cyber incidents, including trust, communication, and disciplined coordination.
Participants will gain practical, transferable lessons on building and activating partnerships before and during a citywide cyber emergency.
