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Crosby Township briefed on major cybersecurity gaps; vendor urges device and network upgrades
Summary
Township fiscal staff and an outside vendor told trustees that township IT systems are out of date and vulnerable, recommending endpoint protection, a firewall, a move to a .gov domain and other upgrades; leaders said costs and procurement will be addressed as part of the 2026 budget.
Crosby Township officials were told at their Nov. 10 meeting that the township’s information-technology systems are critically out of date and need immediate upgrades to reduce the risk of data loss and malware.
Fiscal officer Charlie and Zach Collins of CT Security presented the findings after a recent cybersecurity audit. Collins outlined an ordered plan to harden systems, starting with “endpoint security” for user devices and adding a firewall and network switch to control inbound and outbound traffic. Collins said upgrading the phone system to voice-over-IP and placing email/domain hosting on a private, controlled server were also priorities.
The report built on Charlie’s summary of work already under way. Charlie said a consultant had told him the township would likely need to replace much of its aging hardware: “you’re gonna need to replace nearly every piece of equipment that you’ve got,” Charlie told trustees. Charlie said some systems are more than a decade old and are no longer being maintained by vendors, leaving the township “vulnerable.”
Why it matters: township computers and record systems hold public records and payroll data, and trustees were warned that local backups are insufficient. Collins said moving to a centrally managed firewall and private cloud storage would improve control and make records easier to archive and recover.
Trustee discussion focused on sequencing and cost. Collins said the initial work—endpoint protection, network switching and firewall—would create basic protections and generate the information needed to scope later projects. Charlie said he will get additional bids and expects more detailed cost estimates before trustees finalize budget priorities for 2026.
What’s next: staff will solicit at least two additional vendor bids and include cybersecurity priorities in the upcoming budget work sessions so trustees can weigh funding options. Collins and Charlie both said an administrator, when hired, would lead implementation and procurement.
Provenance: presentation and discussion by Charlie (fiscal officer) and Zach Collins, SEG 1079–SEG 1390.
