CitySmart by VC3
This curated content is from VC3's blog and shares non-technical, municipal-relevant insights about critical technology issues, focusing on how technology reduces costs, helps better serve citizens, and lessens cybersecurity risks. VC3 is solely responsible for the article’s content.
Displaying Items 61-75 (of 80)
In part one of this two-part post, we talked about how cities can better comply with the law through a set of information security best practices. Now in part two, let’s look at how specific policies help cities with compliance.
Full Story
Over time, information security laws only grow stronger. As information technology continues to mature, expectations grow higher that cities will protect its data. When data loss occurs or sensitive information is stolen, the financial and legal repercussions (along with the public outrage) may increase.
Full Story
CitySmart by VC3
August 18, 2016
Robert Parker, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity
With software, cities feel that they often face a dilemma. Standardized, out-of-the-box software lowers cost but restricts customization. Customized software better meets the needs of cities but may increase cost. What to do?
Full Story
CitySmart by VC3
July 27, 2016
Brian Ocfemia, Technical Account Manager, Sophicity
We sometimes hear that cities don’t have a centralized place to access shared files—such as a server or a location in the cloud. That means cities may still store important files on individual desktop computers. Let’s take a step back and look at three major risks in such a situation.
Full Story
CitySmart by VC3
June 29, 2016
Anthony Fantino, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity
Someone attempted a $90,000 transaction from my machine. What do I do? Let that sink in. As the finance officer, city clerk, treasurer, or city manager, how would you feel? What would you do? How did it happen? Where would you look?
Full Story
CitySmart by VC3
May 26, 2016
Anthony Fantino, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity
Hacking has evolved like most information technology. It might surprise you to know that modern hacking is largely automated. That means hackers are using software to probe thousands and thousands of computers in order to look for weak spots. And once they find a weak spot, they attempt to break in. That’s why your city is a target.
Full Story
CitySmart by VC3
April 29, 2016
Victoria Boyko, Software Development Consultant, Sophicity
It’s fun to get excited about ambitious website goals—a new website, a new online payment function, or a photo gallery highlighting your tourism or downtown development. Or maybe you’re so focused on day-to-day operational activities that you haven’t taken a look at your website in a while. Either way, it’s easy to neglect some obvious things that make your website—and your city—look bad.
Full Story
Want to ruin a city clerk’s day? Say the words, “Open records request for an email.” These kinds of information requests are a giant hassle and we’ve written about their excessive cost. In many cases, cities are at an extreme disadvantage because they use obsolete, outdated email systems or consumer grade email systems that not only make email records hard to find but also may place the city at legal risk.
Full Story
As investigators combed for information about the San Bernardino shootings, they relied on electronic information that the killers thought was destroyed. The killers assumed that by damaging their electronic devices (including throwing some of them in water) that all of their information would be destroyed. However, it takes a lot more than smashing an electronic device to confirm that all data is successfully destroyed
Full Story
A new year provides a good excuse to take a fresh look at your city’s information technology. After all, it’s 2016. The great thing about information technology today is that many services have drastically improved in quality while lowering in cost over the last few years.
Full Story
Many cities often wait to reexamine and modernize their technology only until a major disastrous event such as a server failure, virus, or natural disaster hits. But that likely doesn’t mean the technology worked perfectly until that point. Warning signs probably existed that were ignored or accepted as the status quo.
Full Story
Cities often overlook or too lightly consider the critical offsite data backup component as part of an overall data backup and disaster recovery strategy. Why do cities need to re-think offsite data backup so badly?
Full Story
Following open records laws and records retention policies is serious business. However, email sometimes gets treated like an informal type of communication. But when email is considered a public record, an informal approach to email becomes hard-to-manage, expensive, and time-consuming when responding to an open records request.
Full Story
CitySmart by VC3
September 14, 2015
Victoria Boyko, Software Development Consultant. Sophicity
So how can you make sure your city’s website content connects better with your audience? Here are five questions you should ask about the information you put on your website.
Full Story
If viewed as a “nice-to-have” or a cost center, technology can seem quite detached from the day-to-day worries of a city manager. But if viewed as a core foundation of helping city managers do what they do best, technology is an essential investment that helps cut costs and achieve important goals.
Full Story
Displaying Items 61-75 (of 80)