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New IT director briefs council on cybersecurity, 174 machines needing upgrades and asset-tracking rollout
Summary
Lynn's new IT director said securing the city's systems is a top priority after a recent potential breach; the department identified roughly 174 Windows machines that need upgrades (about 50 must be replaced), plans asset-tracking software and will expand staff training against phishing.
Lynn’s new information-technology director reported initial priorities to the budget committee: tighten cybersecurity after a recent incident, inventory and replace aging devices and implement an asset-tracking system.
"We have probably of 174 machines that need upgrading," the IT director said, adding that roughly 50 of those will need outright replacement to remain supported and secure.
The director said much of the FY26 funding addresses these immediate hardware and security needs and that an asset-tracking tool will be deployed to catalog device age and location so managers can budget replacements on a scheduled basis. He described plans for expanded staff training and said the city has a filtering service in place (Mimecast) to reduce spam and phishing; he recommended staff forward suspicious messages so IT can block malicious senders.
Councilors raised constituent incidents of sophisticated phishing and identity spoofing; the director described additional technical and training steps, including simulated phishing tests to identify staff who need follow‑up training.
Discussion: the IT director said he has support from the mayor’s office and the CFO for initial investments and that some recurring replacement costs may become an ongoing, rolling capital need once the asset inventory is complete. No formal action was taken at the hearing.
