FROM: Robert Thompson, General Manager
Originator: Wally Ritchie, Director of Finance
SUBJECT:
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INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FIREWALL UPGRADE
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GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend to the Board of Directors to:
A. Approve a Purchase Order Contract to ePlus Technology, Inc. for the purchase of four Industrial Control System firewalls and professional services utilizing the OMNIA Cooperative Purchasing Agreement, Contract No. R250307, for a total amount not to exceed $476,442 (includes sales tax); and
B. Approve a contingency of $47,644 (10%).
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BACKGROUND
Orange County Sanitation District’s (OC San) current Industrial Control Systems (ICS) firewalls will become obsolete and lose support in 2027. The project will replace the two existing firewalls at Plant No. 1 and add two firewalls at Plant No. 2 to improve redundancy and efficiency.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
• Protect OC San assets
• Ensure the public’s money is wisely spent
• 24/7/365 treatment plan reliability
• Maintain a culture of improving efficiency to reduce the cost to provide the current service level or standard
PROBLEM
The current firewalls will become obsolete in 2027 due to aging hardware. Additionally, all ICS network traffic flows through the Plant No. 1 firewalls, resulting in inefficient routing and a lack of redundancy if Plant No. 1 computing infrastructure goes down.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Replace the existing firewalls with two new firewalls at Plant No. 1 and add a second pair of new firewalls at Plant No. 2 to provide redundancy and improve efficiency. The firewalls were selected to meet the bandwidth and security requirements of the new network equipment.
TIMING CONCERNS
It is crucial to upgrade the firewalls before they become obsolete in 2027.
RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION
Without upgrading the existing firewalls, we will no longer receive updates to address fixes and security vulnerabilities, and we will lose support, increasing the risk of a cyberattack.
PRIOR COMMITTEE/BOARD ACTIONS
N/A
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Based on the security review, staff recommends approving the Purchase Order Contract to ePlus Technology, Inc. utilizing the OMNIA Cooperative Purchasing Agreement, Contract No. R250307.
CEQA
N/A
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
This request complies with the authority levels of OC San's Purchasing Ordinance. This item has been budgeted (FY2026-27 and 2027-28 Budget, Section 8, page 83, Information Technology) and the budget is sufficient for the recommended action.
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s) may be viewed on-line at the OC San website (www.ocsan.gov) with the complete agenda package:
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