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Evanston committee renews Virtru encrypted-email subscription after questions about public-facing policy
Summary
The Evanston Administration & Public Works Committee on April 13 approved resolution 45R-26 to renew a Virtru encrypted-email subscription. Chair Claire Kelly asked for a public-facing explanation of when encrypted email is used and how expiration/deletion settings affect access; the city CISO said internal policies cover use and Virtru messages can expire while the city archive retains records.
The Evanston Administration & Public Works Committee approved a single-source renewal with Virtru Incorporated for encrypted email services, voting in favor of resolution 45R-26 on Monday, April 13.
Council Member Claire Kelly, who chaired the meeting, said she had pulled the item for public explanation and asked whether the city had “a policy that describes the limited use of encrypted emails,” adding that a public-facing description would help residents understand when the service is used. She also raised concerns about expiration and deletion settings that could make it harder to retrieve records for public requests.
Dimitry Shoop, the city’s chief information security officer, told the committee the city maintains information-security and internal FOIA guidance that address encrypted transmission of confidential information — including personally identifiable information, health records, payment-card data and CJIS-related material — but those documents are currently internal rather than published for the public. “So we have a number of documents that address the encrypted … need for encrypted transmission of confidential information,” Shoop said. On expiration, Shoop said Virtru supports message expiration, but the city’s long-term archive retains information indefinitely.
Kelly asked staff to coordinate with the city clerk to consider publishing clearer public guidance about when the encrypted service is permitted and whether expiration/deletion features should be adjusted to ease retrieval when appropriate. Shoop agreed that coordination with the city clerk would be possible.
The committee moved and seconded the resolution and approved the purchase by voice vote; the chair recorded the result as 5-0. The purchase was described on the agenda as a single-source renewal for Virtru’s encrypted-email service.
The committee did not provide a public-facing policy document during the meeting; staff said they would coordinate on that request.
