How Kaua’i Protects Critical Infrastructure from Evolving Threats

Key Takeaways:

• • The county of Kaua’i’s geographic isolation required automated backup and recovery systems that can operate independently during natural disasters and cyberattacks.
  • Dell Technologies helped the county accelerate cyber resilience deployment 40% faster, freeing IT staff to focus on improving county services.

Last week at the RSA Conference (RSAC), industry leaders focused on a pressing challenge: building robust cyber resilience as threats grow more sophisticated and disruptive. The conversations reinforced a reality facing many modern IT teams, especially those in the public sector who are responsible for essential services. Organizations need systems that detect threats early, automate critical responses and support rapid recovery when disruptions occur. For local governments like the county of Kaua’i, Hawaii, that kind of resilience is essential to keeping public services running.

The island of Kauaʻi, which is overseen by the county of Kaua’i, sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 2,500 miles from the nearest mainland. Its 75,000 residents depend entirely on local infrastructure staying operational, especially during the hurricanes and floods that regularly test the infrastructure’s resilience.

For Max Klutke, IT program manager for the county of Kaua’i, this reality shapes every technology decision. “We’re in a very isolated location, so we have to be self-sufficient,” he explains. “A dependable partner like Dell Technologies is critical.”

That relationship, built over two decades, recently helped Kaua’i modernize its data center with Dell PowerProtect Data Manager and Dell PowerProtect Cyber Recovery. The county needed infrastructure that protects the community during natural disasters and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, building resilience into every layer of their operations.

Automation that multiplies limited resources

The county of Kaua’i oversees all county services, including public safety, emergency management, office of the mayor and council services, as well as transportation and public works.

During emergencies, Kaua’i’s IT staff must prioritize resources across competing demands. First responders need access to emergency plans and resource allocation data. Public safety systems must stay online. Transportation and public works need to remain operational.

To continue providing critical services, the county embedded automation throughout its infrastructure to handle essential processes independently. Dell PowerProtect Data Manager handles regular backups of critical data with one-button updates and single-pane-of-glass management. PowerProtect Cyber Recovery automatically isolates recoverable copies in a cyber vault, ensuring rapid recovery without disrupting government services.

As part of PowerProtect Cyber Recovery, Dell CyberSense uses AI to continuously scan backup data with 99.99% accuracy, detecting suspicious behavior before it becomes a crisis. As ransomware attacks grow more sophisticated, this proactive monitoring catches threats that might otherwise go unnoticed until significant damage occurs.

“In the event of ransomware or cybersecurity attacks, PowerProtect Cyber Recovery enables us to recover quickly and get back to work as soon as we can,” says Klutke.

Collaboration built on understanding

Dell approached this modernization by understanding the unique constraints of remote government operations: limited budgets, small teams and the need for solutions that work seamlessly from day one.

Using Dell ProDeploy Plus for PowerProtect Cyber Recovery and Backup Solutions, the county achieved its implementation goals 40% faster than traditional approaches would have allowed. “The Dell Services team’s technical guidance was instrumental in overcoming key challenges, particularly in bandwidth and resource allocation,” notes Klutke.

The efficiency gains extend beyond deployment. Day-to-day tasks from data store management to migration now run automatically, freeing Kaua’i’s IT team to focus on projects that benefit the community—upgrading network infrastructure, deploying Wi-Fi across the county and planning for future growth.

A model for government resilience

For state and local governments nationwide, Kaua’i’s experience demonstrates that comprehensive cyber resilience doesn’t require massive IT departments or unlimited budgets. Strategic automation and working with the right technology provider can enable even small teams to achieve enterprise-grade protection.

As hurricane season approaches and cyber threats continue evolving, the county of Kaua’i operates with confidence. Their infrastructure protects both current operations and future growth, ensuring consistent, reliable government services regardless of external threats.

That’s what resilience looks like when failure isn’t an option and additional critical resources are 2,500 miles away.

To learn more about how Dell Technologies cyber resilience solutions support state and local government operations, read the full county of Kaua’i case study and watch the video.

You can also learn more about Dell cybersecurity and resilience announcements from RSAC here.