TEWKSBURY — Leaders from over a dozen local communities and municipal organizations came together in Tewksbury last month to discuss the threat of cybercrime. Hosted by the Town of Tewksbury, the forum was the first of its kind collaboration between municipalities and cyber professionals.
The day long meeting was an opportunity to discuss vulnerabilities that cities and towns in Massachusetts, and across the country, face. Ransomware, killware, and access to resident data were all part of the discussion.
Select Board member James Mackey, a cyber professional, moderated the discussion which was held at the Tewksbury Public Library with support from Leicester Cyber Solutions and Lowell 5 bank.
Topics such as election security, network security, threat detection, and internal processes for cities and towns were covered. Municipal leaders were encouraged to not only evaluate their current status, but to start to evaluate weaknesses and strategize ways to address them.
Mackey said, “I see this as just a first step on the…
