The Official Newsletter of the TECB · questions about your district/center, please email me for...
1
Governor Bill Lee thanked our 911 professionals for their dedication and service to the state of Tennessee . Director of Technology Eddie Burchell Bradley County 911 Director Sherri Maxfield Representative Mike Sparks Tennessee Emergency Communications Board Share this email: The Official Newsletter of the TECB Serving the first, first Responders TECB Website TECB Activities: 911 Day on the Hill This year's annual 911 Day on the Hill was held on Tuesday, February 4th at the State Capitol and Cordell Hull Building in Nashville. 911 professionals from across the state came to meet with their local lawmakers to discuss 911 matters. During the day, participants met with Governor Bill Lee an the Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) Commissioner Hodgen Mainda. Later in the day, telecommunicators were introduced and recognized in Chairman Mike Bell's Senate Judiciary Committee and in Chairwoman Debra Moody's House Curriculum, Testing, & Innovation Subcommittee. The TECB's education and promotional booth was also on display for participants to obtain emergency communications materials and information sheets about the Board's latest initiatives. Governor Lee and Commissioner Mainda each recognized the importance of the work of our first responders and thanked them and then were present for a group photo with attendees and the TECB. 911 Day on the Hill with Governor Bill Lee and TDCI's Commissioner Hodgen Mainda TECB with Governor Lee and Commissioner Mainda L to R: TECB's Steve Martini, Jennifer White, Amber McDonald, Mike Hooks, Governor Bill Lee, TDCI Commissioner Hodgen Mainda, TECB's Curtis Sutton and Phillip Noel. Governor Bill Lee and Commissioner Hodgen Mainda spoke with TECB Board Chair Mike Hooks, TECB's Executive Director Curtis Sutton and TECB member Jennifer White. 911 professionals stood in recognition during the Senate Judiciary committee meeting. TECB's Amber McDonald distributed 911 promotional material to attendees throughout the day. Pictured L to R: Henderson County 911's Pam Tolley, Lauderdale County's Dana Walker and Crockett County 911's Robert Howell. L to R: Chairwoman Debra Moody, Obion County 911's Carol Easley, TECB's Amber McDonald, Obion County 911 Director Sherri Hanna and Representative John Deberry. Click here to view Chairwoman Debra Moody give a special thank you to our 911 telecommunicators. (Begins: 1:06 minutes in) Click here to view Chairman Mike Bell acknowledge 911 professionals in his Senate Judiciary committee. (Begins: 1:40 minutes in) Rutherford County 911 Enables New Technology to Video and Chat with Callers Callers using smart phones to dial 911 can video emergency scenes and chat with dispatchers with an enhancement to the Emergency 911 system, the first in Tennessee. The Carbyne c-Lite software will pinpoint the exact location of the emergency and allow the caller to video the scene to help dispatchers get callers the help needed. Video is one-way from the caller to the dispatcher, only active during the call, and ends when the call is completed. Callers may also chat with the dispatcher. This will allow people who are deaf and hard of hearing or cannot speak to communicate with the dispatcher. The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Rutherford County Emergency Communications District E-911 Office, launched Carbyne c-Lite in late December for use by the Sheriff’s Office 911/ Emergency Communication Division. There is no integration needed and no app required. Citizens may wish to install the c- Now app on their iPhone (iOS 11 or later) or Android device (OS 4.4 and later) to speed up the process, by eliminating the need for the dispatcher to send the caller a link. Callers will dial 911 in emergencies. Once the 911 call is established between the caller and dispatcher, dispatch will send the caller a link as a touchscreen notification message that the caller will click to provide permission to chat, obtain location and video. -Cassie Lowery, Assistant Director of the Rutherford County Emergency Communications District To prepare smart phones, it is encouraged to verify in advance that location and video are enabled for the phone’s default browser and text message apps. For more information, check out the Carbyne link at https://carbyne911.com/rutherford-county. Tech Tip: Next Gen Update For this month’s article I would like to provide a brief update on some of our projects that are in progress. If you have questions about your district/center, please email me for further details. Text-to-911: There are 22 centers that are in a “pending” status due to specific scheduling requests, waiting for CPE modifications or other reasons. There are 7 centers that are in a “scheduled” status and 27 in “text ready” status. Note that this status is related to AT&T’s work and does not include the CMRS (cellular) carriers’ steps involved in bringing text-to-911 into the center. Per the FCC, the CMRS carriers have 6 months from the time of the request to deliver text-to-911 services, although it frequently does not take that long. CHaaS (Hosted Controller): There are 27 sites that have requested Call Handling as a Service (CHaaS) that are pending completion and 19 sites online. AT&T ESI Net Transition Project: The project to transition away from the NetTN ESI Net and onto the AT&T ESI Net is underway and on schedule. New circuits are being installed in each center with 72 already complete. The Letters of Authorization required for districts in the Frontier and CenturyLink service areas are 100% complete. Thank you for submitting those in a timely fashion. The AT&T Discovery Documents and Data Exchange Workbooks required for each center are being distributed and will need to be returned to the project team prior to moving forward with the new network. These are somewhat complex and you may want to speak with your CPE vendors for their assistance. The project team will be contacting you to help work through the information needed, which is very important for the correct provisioning of the network. CPE Systems Test and Certification: As you know, before any CPE or call-handling system can be turned up on the new network to accept i3 SIP calls (Next Generation 911), the system must be certified by Intrado as ready. To date, only the following CPE systems have been approved by Intrado: 1. Hosted Viper System (CHaaS) (Viper 5.1, 7.0, and Power911 6.4, 7.0) 2. Motorola Vesta 3. Solacom Guardian CPE Systems that have either started certification testing or that we have not received info on: 1. Motorola CallWorks 2. MODUCOM 3. Zetron MAX 4. Combix 5. Emergitech 6. Motorola Sentinel Patriot 7. TriTech If you have a system that we do not have information on, please ask your vendor to have the manufacturer contact Intrado as soon as possible. Manufacturers can go to: https://www.west.com/safety-services/next-generation-i3-solutions/interoperability to begin the testing and certification process. For those systems that are not tested/approved at the time of deployment, a gateway will be installed to convert i3 Next Generation 911 traffic to CAMA to be delivered to the CPE. This could limit your center’s ability to receive full Next Generation 911 functionality. Updated information on projects will be provided in this newsletter and by email as things progress. If you have questions about your specific equipment, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your assistance in completing the steps needed for our various projects. -Eddie Burchell GIS: True North True North continues to be your authoritative source for implementation support and questions related to GIS for NG911 in our state. If you need assistance with any GIS-related issues, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. The latest GIS Data Standards for NG911 document can be found here. You will receive an e- mail notification when new versions are available for download. True North is also actively engaged with in-person training at various locations across the state. Please visit the training section of the TECB website to find dates and locations near you, or send an e-mail to the Training Coordinator: [email protected]. GIS- STS Services STS-GIS Services provides multiple map products and services at no cost to the ECDs through its contract with the TECB. Some of these services include: buffers, distance mapping, driving time analysis, flood zone mapping, and density analysis (population and crime). STS-GIS also provides a variety of GIS data, which can be found on its website at https://www.tn.gov/finance/sts-gis.html. Parcel data is also available, but the ECD’s will have to contact their respective GIS Analyst. If you have any questions or would like to know more about its products and services, please contact Andrew Griswold (East) or Ryan Pittenger (West). [email protected] [email protected] Regional GIS Analyst (East) Regional GIS Analyst (West) Office: 615-532-6519 Office: 731-421-6819 Cell: 731-267-0807 Industry News Is Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) the key to unlocking enhanced cybersecurity? The public safety community is increasingly familiar with the growing problem of network attacks by “bad actors.” Often motivated by profit, hackers target public safety agencies because they are especially vulnerable to cyber attacks. When public safety agencies first ended up in the crosshairs, the goal was mischief—think denial-of-service attacks. In the last few years, however, things have taken a more sinister turn. Today, ransomware is the biggest threat to the public safety community. Ransomware is a specific type of malware used by hackers to break in and encrypt an organization’s data files, essentially locking them and rendering them unusable. Then the hacker demands a ransom to provide the key that unlocks the files. There are methods, however, that public safety agencies can leverage to better protect themselves. One such method involves the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). How PKI works When any one of us attempts to conduct a secure online transaction, PKI is at work. This is indicated by the appearance of “HTTPS”—shorthand for Hypertext Transfer Protocol and Secure—or a padlock icon in the far-left area of the web address window. Either of these indicators lets you know that the website uses transport layer security (TLS) with PKI certificates and assures you that it is both legitimate and secure. PKI is a two-key system. The “public” key is distributed to any entity that seeks to connect to another server. This key is used to encrypt the data, which only can be decrypted if the receiving entity has the corresponding “private” key. When it does, the result is a secure “handshake” that occurs between the connected servers and tells each entity that the other can be trusted. While hackers are sometimes able to fool a system into believing that it is communicating with a trusted entity, PKI includes safeguards to protect against this, in the form of digital signatures and certificates. Certificates are issued by an independent credentialing agency and are typically only valid for a year or two. When a data transfer occurs, the entities involved in the transaction exchange their digital certificates, and if they are found to be valid, the transaction occurs. However, if one or more certificates are found to be invalid or lapsed, the other entities are notified of this and given the option to proceed with the transaction anyway. While tempting, this opens the entity to spoofing and provides a back door into its networks and systems. Given that IP-based networks are vulnerable to cyberattacks, and that a patchwork of such networks will be interconnected in an NG911 environment, it is imperative that all PSAPs be credentialed. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) is leading the effort to bring PKI to the more than 6,000 PSAPs and plans to establish a national PSAP credentialing authority (PCA). While there is no action for PSAPs to take right now, every PSAP will eventually need to be certificated for PKI to maximize protection against system compromises. PKI has been leveraged in commercial markets for years and its introduction into the public safety communications environment is a powerful step toward enhanced cybersecurity. Authors: Dave Sehnert and Chad Brothers, Mission Critical Partners Local Light: Bradley County 911 Q: What do you want the public to know about your 911 team and PSAP? A: The Bradley County 911 Center employs 26 Telecommunicators (including 4 shift supervisors) who work a 12-hour shift schedule with rotating days off each week. Nine of these Telecommunicators make up our Incident Dispatch/TERT team which handles large scale events or incidents in our community and/or deploy to assist other 911 Centers when called upon to do so. We also employ seven office staff whose work supports the dispatch room on a daily basis – including an Operations Manager, Administration Manager, GIS/CAD Database Coordinator, Terminal Agency Coordinator, IT Administrator, Administrative Assistant, and a Training Supervisor. It takes many moving parts to keep our dispatch center in full operation around the clock! Q: What made you want a career in public safety? A: Like many public safety personnel, I “landed” in the 911 industry while simply looking for a job. I had worked in an office environment, followed by factory work, and actually was interested in working in the EMS field when I stumbled upon a job opening for a 911 dispatcher position. When offered, I took the job and fell in love with “something new every day”, “the adrenaline rush”, “helping people in my home community” – all the same reasons you hear from most emergency service personnel. I was fortunate that our agency was growing at the time and there have been many opportunities over the last 27 years to better myself and seek advancement. Q: What is perception vs. reality of the role of a telecommunicator? A: While TV shows like “9-1-1” do bring attention to our profession – many times the role of a telecommunicator is exaggerated or not portrayed completely accurate. The calls that are shown in the TV series are often times not realistic to the calls that we handle on a daily basis. The technology used by the dispatcher in the TV series to retrieve any and all information he/she wants in the moment is not reality in our local 911 centers – many of which struggle to afford the bare minimum of equipment. The TV show implies the center is always a calm atmosphere – and we all know that isn’t always the case during high call volume times. What is realistic from the TV show is the psychological effects the job can have on a telecommunicator – the struggles of digesting what you just handled over the phone and the constant wondering if you did and said everything you could to help the caller. Reality is, our employees are human too and deal with family issues, financial issues, etc., just like anyone else in our community. Many people do not realize the stress this job has on the telecommunicator. Q: What advice would you give someone who is thinking about pursuing a career in 911? A: Understand early on that this career will demand a lot of your time, your emotions, and your focus. I tell all our new employees that a solid, understanding support system from your family outside of work is essential in order to have a long career in this field. The training is hard but stick with it – for it is the most rewarding job! Multi-tasking is a must as it will be necessary to perform several tasks at one time behind the console. Although the job is stressful, it is possible to work long term in this career if you balance your life right with family, hobbies, and outside interests. Q: How has working in 911 changed your life? A: I would never have dreamed 27 years ago when I took the job as a dispatcher that I would be the Director of a 911 Center. To be able to serve the citizens in the community that I was born and raised in – where most of my family still resides – has been an honor. I believe that as a Director, leading our Center is only part of my responsibility – the other part is preparing our younger generation to lead this Center one day. I am grateful that God chose this path for my life! L to R: Bradley County 911 Director Sherri Maxfield, Operations Manager Amy Nave and Administration Manager Cynthia Gunter Legislative Session Begins On January 14, 2020 the 111th General Assembly reconvened. The TECB's Director of Government and External Affairs Amber McDonald met with some familiar faces during its opening days. Representative Mark Cochran, Representative John Crawford and Representative Mike Sparks were just a few of the members who were on hand to learn more about the Board's latest projects. Representative John Crawford Representative Mark Cochran 911 Bills Introduced HB1933 by Cepicky/SB1958 by Crowe: As introduced, requires training curriculum for 911 operators and public safety dispatchers to include guidelines for T-CPR; provides immunity from civil liability for a 911 operator or public safety dispatcher who provides T-CPR. HB2508 by Hawk/SB2223 by Southerland: As introduced, with certain exceptions, requires revenues from the 911 surcharge to be allocated to the emergency communications districts proportionally based upon the population that each district serves. HB2520 by Bricken/SB2688 by Bowling: As introduced, reduces the time period in which the board of directors of an emergency communications district must file a copy of the district's annual audit with the appropriate authorities, from 30 days after receipt of the audit by the board to 15 days after receipt of the audit. SJR0836 by Bowling: Ratifies the increase of the 911 surcharge rate to $1.50 as approved by the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board. HB1673 by Russell/SB2762 by Bell: As introduced, requires each emergency communication district, by January 1, 2022, to adopt the direct dispatch method in response to emergency calls received by public safety answering points within the district. SB2767 by Bell/HB2304 by Russell: As introduced, adds emergency call takers and public safety dispatchers and emergency services personnel to definition of first responder for certain purposes. Upcoming Meetings TECB Board Meeting May 6, 2020 at 10:00AM Conference Room 1A 500 James Robertson Parkway Nashville, TN 37243 Authorization #335334 About the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance: TDCI is charged with protecting the interests of consumers while providing fair, efficient oversight and a level field of competition for a broad array of industries and professionals doing business in Tennessee. Our divisions include the Athletic Commission, Tennessee Corrections Institute, Emergency Communications Board, Fire Prevention, Insurance, Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, Peace Officers Standards and Training, Regulatory Boards, Securities, and TennCare Oversight. Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails. View this email online. 500 James Robertson Parkway 11th Floor Nashville, TN | 37243-0582 US This email was sent to . To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
Transcript of The Official Newsletter of the TECB · questions about your district/center, please email me for...
Governor Bill Lee thanked our 911professionals for their dedication and
service to the state of Tennessee.
Director of Technology
Eddie Burchell
Bradley County 911 Director
Sherri Maxfield
Representative Mike Sparks
Tennessee Emergency Communications Board
Share this email:
The Official Newsletter of the TECB Serving the first, first Responders
TECB Website
TECB Activities: 911Day on the Hill
This year's annual 911 Day on the Hill washeld on Tuesday, February 4th at the StateCapitol and Cordell Hull Building inNashville. 911 professionals from across thestate came to meet with their locallawmakers to discuss 911 matters. Duringthe day, participants met with Governor BillLee an the Department of Commerce andInsurance (TDCI) Commissioner HodgenMainda.
Later in the day, telecommunicators were introduced and recognized in Chairman Mike Bell'sSenate Judiciary Committee and in Chairwoman Debra Moody's House Curriculum, Testing, &Innovation Subcommittee. The TECB's education and promotional booth was also on displayfor participants to obtain emergency communications materials and information sheets aboutthe Board's latest initiatives.
Governor Lee and Commissioner Mainda each recognized the importance of the work of ourfirst responders and thanked them and then were present for a group photo with attendeesand the TECB.
911 Day on the Hill with Governor Bill Lee and TDCI's Commissioner Hodgen Mainda
TECB with Governor Lee and Commissioner Mainda
L to R: TECB's Steve Martini, Jennifer White, AmberMcDonald, Mike Hooks, Governor Bill Lee, TDCI
Commissioner Hodgen Mainda, TECB's Curtis Suttonand Phillip Noel.
Governor Bill Lee and Commissioner HodgenMainda spoke with TECB Board Chair Mike
Hooks, TECB's Executive Director Curtis Suttonand TECB member Jennifer White.
911 professionals stood in recognition during theSenate Judiciary committee meeting.
TECB's Amber McDonald distributed 911promotional material to attendees
throughout the day.
Pictured L to R: Henderson County 911'sPam Tolley, Lauderdale County's Dana
Walker and Crockett County 911's RobertHowell.
L to R: Chairwoman Debra Moody, ObionCounty 911's Carol Easley, TECB's Amber
McDonald, Obion County 911 Director SherriHanna and Representative John Deberry.
Click here to view Chairwoman Debra Moodygive a special thank you to our 911
telecommunicators.
(Begins: 1:06 minutes in)
Click here to view Chairman Mike Bellacknowledge 911 professionals in his
Senate Judiciary committee.
(Begins: 1:40 minutes in)
Rutherford County911 Enables NewTechnology to Videoand Chat with Callers Callers using smart phones to dial 911 canvideo emergency scenes and chat withdispatchers with an enhancement to the
Emergency 911 system, the first in Tennessee. The Carbyne c-Lite software will pinpoint theexact location of the emergency and allow the caller to video the scene to help dispatchers getcallers the help needed.
Video is one-way from the caller to the dispatcher, only active during the call, and ends whenthe call is completed. Callers may also chat with the dispatcher. This will allow people who aredeaf and hard of hearing or cannot speak to communicate with the dispatcher.
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Rutherford County EmergencyCommunications District E-911 Office, launched Carbyne c-Lite in late December for use bythe Sheriff’s Office 911/ Emergency Communication Division.
There is no integration needed and no app required. Citizens may wish to install the c-Now app on their iPhone (iOS 11 or later) or Android device (OS 4.4 and later) to speedup the process, by eliminating the need for the dispatcher to send the caller a link.Callers will dial 911 in emergencies. Once the 911 call is established between the callerand dispatcher, dispatch will send the caller a link as a touchscreen notificationmessage that the caller will click to provide permission to chat, obtain location andvideo.
-Cassie Lowery, Assistant Director of the Rutherford County EmergencyCommunications District
To prepare smart phones, it is encouraged to verify in advance that location and video areenabled for the phone’s default browser and text message apps.
For more information, check out the Carbyne link at https://carbyne911.com/rutherford-county.
Tech Tip: Next Gen Update
For this month’s article I would like to provide a brief updateon some of our projects that are in progress. If you havequestions about your district/center, please email me forfurther details.
Text-to-911: There are 22 centers that are in a “pending”status due to specific scheduling requests, waiting for CPEmodifications or other reasons.
There are 7 centers that are in a “scheduled” status and 27in “text ready” status. Note that this status is related toAT&T’s work and does not include the CMRS (cellular)carriers’ steps involved in bringing text-to-911 into thecenter. Per the FCC, the CMRS carriers have 6 monthsfrom the time of the request to deliver text-to-911 services,although it frequently does not take that long.
CHaaS (Hosted Controller): There are 27 sites that have requested Call Handling as aService (CHaaS) that are pending completion and 19 sites online.
AT&T ESI Net Transition Project: The project to transition away from the NetTN ESI Net andonto the AT&T ESI Net is underway and on schedule. New circuits are being installed in eachcenter with 72 already complete.
The Letters of Authorization required for districts in the Frontier and CenturyLink service areasare 100% complete. Thank you for submitting those in a timely fashion.
The AT&T Discovery Documents and Data Exchange Workbooks required for each centerare being distributed and will need to be returned to the project team prior to moving forwardwith the new network. These are somewhat complex and you may want to speak with yourCPE vendors for their assistance. The project team will be contacting you to help workthrough the information needed, which is very important for the correct provisioning of thenetwork.
CPE Systems Test and Certification: As you know, before any CPE or call-handling systemcan be turned up on the new network to accept i3 SIP calls (Next Generation 911), the systemmust be certified by Intrado as ready. To date, only the following CPE systems have beenapproved by Intrado:
1. Hosted Viper System (CHaaS) (Viper 5.1, 7.0, and Power911 6.4, 7.0)2. Motorola Vesta3. Solacom Guardian
CPE Systems that have either started certification testing or that we have not received info on: 1. Motorola CallWorks2. MODUCOM3. Zetron MAX4. Combix5. Emergitech6. Motorola Sentinel Patriot7. TriTech
If you have a system that we do not have information on, please ask your vendor to have themanufacturer contact Intrado as soon as possible. Manufacturers can go to:https://www.west.com/safety-services/next-generation-i3-solutions/interoperability to begin thetesting and certification process. For those systems that are not tested/approved at the time ofdeployment, a gateway will be installed to convert i3 Next Generation 911 traffic to CAMA to bedelivered to the CPE. This could limit your center’s ability to receive full Next Generation 911functionality.
Updated information on projects will be provided in this newsletter and by email as thingsprogress. If you have questions about your specific equipment, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you for your assistance in completing the steps needed for our various projects.
-Eddie Burchell
GIS: True North
True North continues to be yourauthoritative source for implementationsupport and questions related to GIS forNG911 in our state. If you need assistance with any GIS-related issues, please send an e-mailto [email protected].
The latest GIS Data Standards for NG911 document can be found here. You will receive an e-mail notification when new versions are available for download.
True North is also actively engaged with in-person training at various locations across thestate. Please visit the training section of the TECB website to find dates and locations nearyou, or send an e-mail to the Training Coordinator: [email protected].
GIS- STS Services
STS-GIS Services provides multiple mapproducts and services at no cost to theECDs through its contract with the TECB.
Some of these services include: buffers,distance mapping, driving time analysis,flood zone mapping, and density analysis(population and crime). STS-GIS alsoprovides a variety of GIS data, which canbe found on its website athttps://www.tn.gov/finance/sts-gis.html. Parcel data is also available, but the ECD’s will have tocontact their respective GIS Analyst.
If you have any questions or would like to know more about its products and services, pleasecontact Andrew Griswold (East) or Ryan Pittenger (West).
[email protected] [email protected]
Regional GIS Analyst (East) Regional GIS Analyst (West)
Office: 615-532-6519 Office: 731-421-6819
Cell: 731-267-0807
Industry News
Is Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) the key to unlockingenhanced cybersecurity?
The public safety community is increasingly familiar with thegrowing problem of network attacks by “bad actors.” Oftenmotivated by profit, hackers target public safety agenciesbecause they are especially vulnerable to cyber attacks. Whenpublic safety agencies first ended up in the crosshairs, the goalwas mischief—think denial-of-service attacks. In the last fewyears, however, things have taken a more sinister turn.
Today, ransomware is the biggest threat to the public safetycommunity. Ransomware is a specific type of malware used byhackers to break in and encrypt an organization’s data files,
essentially locking them and rendering them unusable. Then the hacker demands a ransom toprovide the key that unlocks the files. There are methods, however, that public safety agenciescan leverage to better protect themselves. One such method involves the Public KeyInfrastructure (PKI).
How PKI works
When any one of us attempts to conduct a secure online transaction, PKI is at work. This isindicated by the appearance of “HTTPS”—shorthand for Hypertext Transfer Protocol andSecure—or a padlock icon in the far-left area of the web address window. Either of theseindicators lets you know that the website uses transport layer security (TLS) with PKIcertificates and assures you that it is both legitimate and secure.
PKI is a two-key system. The “public” key is distributed to any entity that seeks to connect toanother server. This key is used to encrypt the data, which only can be decrypted if thereceiving entity has the corresponding “private” key. When it does, the result is a secure“handshake” that occurs between the connected servers and tells each entity that the othercan be trusted.
While hackers are sometimes able to fool a system into believing that it is communicating witha trusted entity, PKI includes safeguards to protect against this, in the form of digital signaturesand certificates. Certificates are issued by an independent credentialing agency and aretypically only valid for a year or two.
When a data transfer occurs, the entities involved in the transaction exchange their digitalcertificates, and if they are found to be valid, the transaction occurs. However, if one or morecertificates are found to be invalid or lapsed, the other entities are notified of this and given theoption to proceed with the transaction anyway. While tempting, this opens the entity tospoofing and provides a back door into its networks and systems.
Given that IP-based networks are vulnerable to cyberattacks, and that a patchwork of suchnetworks will be interconnected in an NG911 environment, it is imperative that all PSAPs becredentialed. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) is leading the effort to bringPKI to the more than 6,000 PSAPs and plans to establish a national PSAP credentialingauthority (PCA).
While there is no action for PSAPs to take right now, every PSAP will eventually need to becertificated for PKI to maximize protection against system compromises.
PKI has been leveraged in commercial markets for years and its introduction into the publicsafety communications environment is a powerful step toward enhanced cybersecurity.
Authors: Dave Sehnert and Chad Brothers, Mission Critical Partners
Local Light: Bradley County911
Q: What do you want the public to know about your911 team and PSAP?
A: The Bradley County 911 Center employs 26Telecommunicators (including 4 shift supervisors) whowork a 12-hour shift schedule with rotating days offeach week. Nine of these Telecommunicators make upour Incident Dispatch/TERT team which handles largescale events or incidents in our community and/ordeploy to assist other 911 Centers when called upon todo so. We also employ seven office staff whose worksupports the dispatch room on a daily basis – includingan Operations Manager, Administration Manager,GIS/CAD Database Coordinator, Terminal Agency
Coordinator, IT Administrator, Administrative Assistant, and a Training Supervisor. It takesmany moving parts to keep our dispatch center in full operation around the clock!
Q: What made you want a career in public safety?
A: Like many public safety personnel, I “landed” in the 911 industry while simply looking for ajob. I had worked in an office environment, followed by factory work, and actually wasinterested in working in the EMS field when I stumbled upon a job opening for a 911dispatcher position. When offered, I took the job and fell in love with “something new everyday”, “the adrenaline rush”, “helping people in my home community” – all the same reasonsyou hear from most emergency service personnel. I was fortunate that our agency wasgrowing at the time and there have been many opportunities over the last 27 years to bettermyself and seek advancement.
Q: What is perception vs. reality of the role of a telecommunicator?
A: While TV shows like “9-1-1” do bring attention to our profession – many times the role of atelecommunicator is exaggerated or not portrayed completely accurate. The calls that areshown in the TV series are often times not realistic to the calls that we handle on a daily basis.The technology used by the dispatcher in the TV series to retrieve any and all informationhe/she wants in the moment is not reality in our local 911 centers – many of which struggle toafford the bare minimum of equipment. The TV show implies the center is always a calmatmosphere – and we all know that isn’t always the case during high call volume times. Whatis realistic from the TV show is the psychological effects the job can have on atelecommunicator – the struggles of digesting what you just handled over the phone and theconstant wondering if you did and said everything you could to help the caller. Reality is, ouremployees are human too and deal with family issues, financial issues, etc., just like anyoneelse in our community. Many people do not realize the stress this job has on thetelecommunicator.
Q: What advice would you give someone who is thinking about pursuing a career in911?
A: Understand early on that this career will demand a lot of your time, your emotions, and yourfocus. I tell all our new employees that a solid, understanding support system from your familyoutside of work is essential in order to have a long career in this field. The training is hard butstick with it – for it is the most rewarding job! Multi-tasking is a must as it will be necessary toperform several tasks at one time behind the console. Although the job is stressful, it ispossible to work long term in this career if you balance your life right with family, hobbies, andoutside interests.
Q: How has working in 911 changed your life?
A: I would never have dreamed 27 years ago when I took the job as a dispatcher that I wouldbe the Director of a 911 Center. To be able to serve the citizens in the community that I wasborn and raised in – where most of my family still resides – has been an honor. I believe thatas a Director, leading our Center is only part of my responsibility – the other part is preparingour younger generation to lead this Center one day. I am grateful that God chose this path formy life!
L to R: Bradley County 911 Director Sherri Maxfield, OperationsManager Amy Nave and Administration Manager Cynthia Gunter
Legislative Session Begins
On January 14, 2020 the 111th General Assemblyreconvened. The TECB's Director of Government andExternal Affairs Amber McDonald met with somefamiliar faces during its opening days. RepresentativeMark Cochran, Representative John Crawford andRepresentative Mike Sparks were just a few of themembers who were on hand to learn more about theBoard's latest projects.
Representative John Crawford Representative Mark Cochran
911 Bills IntroducedHB1933 by Cepicky/SB1958 by Crowe: Asintroduced, requires training curriculum for 911operators and public safety dispatchers to includeguidelines for T-CPR; provides immunity from civilliability for a 911 operator or public safety dispatcherwho provides T-CPR.
HB2508 by Hawk/SB2223 by Southerland: Asintroduced, with certain exceptions, requiresrevenues from the 911 surcharge to be allocated tothe emergency communications districtsproportionally based upon the population that eachdistrict serves.
HB2520 by Bricken/SB2688 by Bowling: As introduced, reduces the time period in whichthe board of directors of an emergency communications district must file a copy of the district'sannual audit with the appropriate authorities, from 30 days after receipt of the audit by theboard to 15 days after receipt of the audit.
SJR0836 by Bowling: Ratifies the increase of the 911 surcharge rate to $1.50 as approved bythe Tennessee Emergency Communications Board.
HB1673 by Russell/SB2762 by Bell: As introduced, requires each emergency communicationdistrict, by January 1, 2022, to adopt the direct dispatch method in response to emergencycalls received by public safety answering points within the district.
SB2767 by Bell/HB2304 by Russell: As introduced, adds emergency call takers and publicsafety dispatchers and emergency services personnel to definition of first responder for certainpurposes.
Upcoming Meetings
TECB Board Meeting
May 6, 2020 at 10:00AM
Conference Room 1A
500 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243
Authorization#335334
About the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance: TDCI is charged with protecting the interests ofconsumers while providing fair, efficient oversight and a level field of competition for a broad array of industries andprofessionals doing business in Tennessee. Our divisions include the Athletic Commission, Tennessee Corrections
Institute, Emergency Communications Board, Fire Prevention, Insurance, Tennessee Law Enforcement TrainingAcademy, Peace Officers Standards and Training, Regulatory Boards, Securities, and TennCare Oversight.
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