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 16-30 (of 80)

If You Can’t Get Your Job Done, Is Underspending on IT Worth It?

CitySmart by VC3

January 8, 2021

Ashton Hollingsworth, Account Manager, Sophicity

Many towns and cities still underspend on information technology in order to save money. Or, at least they think they are saving money. In reality, the lack of IT investment impacts the work of municipal employees every day in small ways.

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The Cloud Helps Cities Fend Off Cyber Threats and Reduce Liability

CitySmart by VC3

December 8, 2020

Matt Wood, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity

While a few rare situations may not apply, the cloud is generally a great option to help fend off cyberattacks and reduce liability in case a cyberattack occurs.

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Is Your Municipality’s IT Support Partnering or Reacting?

CitySmart by VC3

November 3, 2020

Eric Johansson, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity

Do you have an IT partner? Or an IT “reactor”? Because IT today is so crucial to municipal operations, towns and cities are shifting more and more toward hiring IT partners who ensure technology runs smoothly and protects them from threats.

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Breaking Down a Sophisticated Phishing Email: 4 Advanced Warning Signs

CitySmart by VC3

August 31, 2020

LaNise Essick, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity

Phishing emails grow more sophisticated as hackers get better. During the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers are using fear and taking advantage of people working from home to attempt more aggressive and tricky phishing attacks.

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5 Data Backup Statistics That Should Concern Municipalities

CitySmart by VC3

April 27, 2020

Jessica Zubizarreta, Account Manager, Sophicity

Many data backup implementations are not reliable and end up failing when municipalities need to restore data after an incident or disaster.

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Live Video Streaming Tips and Best Practices for Cities

CitySmart by VC3

March 25, 2020

Victoria Boyko, Software Development Consultant

One great benefit of the online video explosion is the ability to easily stream videos live. As a city, you’ve probably already tried live streaming or want to explore this content option more. If so, we’ve got a few tips and best practices to keep in mind as you get those video cameras recording.

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“Ransomware Just Encrypts My Data—No One Steals It” and Other Ransomware Myths

CitySmart by VC3

February 3, 2020

Adrian McWethy, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity

How would your municipality react to the threat of ransomware differently if you knew that everything encrypted—all confidential, sensitive, and personally identifiable information—would end up accessible to anyone on the internet?

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Three Secrets of a Great Helpdesk

CitySmart by VC3

January 6, 2020

Mike Smith, Senior Consultant and Team Lead, Sophicity

When people need to call IT support, they need help and they need it now. Traditionally, a warm fuzzy feeling usually does not follow because people encounter schedulers or entry-level technicians reading a script.

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Your “Clever” Password Is Not Unique—How to Improve Your Password Security

CitySmart by VC3

December 17, 2019

Corbin Son, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity

In the past, we've often blogged about bad passwords (like "123456"). Encouragingly, city employees have realized that using such bad passwords is, yes, a bad idea. However, a false sense of security can creep in and make them think any other password is okay.

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Applying Hoarding Tips to Document Management: 5 Ways to Help Cities Declutter

CitySmart by VC3

November 15, 2019

Brian Ocfemia, Engineering Manager, Sophicity

When someone physically hoards items, their bad habits create a “mountain of stuff” that becomes very visible over time. The same thing happens with electronic information—but the problem is less noticeable because the hoarding does not turn into a physical “mountain of stuff.”

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5 Overlooked Information Security Risks in Your City

CitySmart by VC3

October 16, 2019

Rod Riga, Data Center Engineer, Sophicity

If a city focuses on information security, they likely focus on securing servers, computers, laptops, and network equipment. Part of a thorough information security plan includes securing overlooked items with vulnerabilities. Here are five common risks you need to address.

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4 Warning Signs Your City Needs New IT Support

CitySmart by VC3

September 16, 2019

LaNise Essick, Network Infrastructure Consultant, Sophicity

When we talk to cities about their IT support, one frustration they often bring up is responsiveness. Your IT support may be talented and knowledgeable, but if they do not respond quickly when you need and depend on them, the money you pay them is too much—and may even be wasted.

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Information Security: A Serious Mission Where Your City Can’t Fail

CitySmart by VC3

August 20, 2019

Nathan Hall, Senior Engineer and Team Lead, Sophicity

As stewards of important citizen and city business information, cities need to treat electronic information just as they would treat valuables locked up in a vault or locking the doors of buildings.

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5 Ways Vendor Management Goes Wrong at Cities

CitySmart by VC3

July 24, 2019

Eric Johansson, Network Infrastructure Consultant

Cities rely heavily on hardware, software, and technology equipment to run their operations. Each piece of hardware, software, and technology comes from a vendor that you must interact with in some way. In some cases, you may rarely interact with the vendor. In other cases, such as with specialized software, you may interact with the vendor a lot.

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Bleeding Money: Ways Your City’s Reactive IT Support Drains Your Budget

CitySmart by VC3

June 26, 2019

Jasmine Williams, Network Infrastructure Consultant

Hiring reactive, “as needed” IT support begins with hope and temptation. The hope? “I’m a small city. We don’t need much technology support. Our servers and computers should work fine most of the time.” The temptation? “If those servers and computers work fine most of the time, then I’ll barely need to use our IT support—and we’ll save lots of money.” And how does that hope and temptation usually turn out? Not well.

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Displaying Items 16-30 (of 80)