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Smithfield council hears AllTech presentation on cybersecurity, backups and network segmentation
Summary
AllTech LLC briefed the Smithfield City Council on rising cyber risks, backup importance and recommended network architecture changes; the firm offered a prioritized list of recommendations and cost estimates and agreed to provide training-tool options beyond state mandates.
AllTech LLC presented to the Smithfield City Council on the city’s IT services and cybersecurity needs, urging a layered security approach and offering follow-up costed recommendations.
Mark Anderson, president of AllTech LLC, told the council that “automated (bot) traffic on the internet now exceeds human activity,” and estimated that roughly “85–90%” of security breaches stem from user actions such as clicking malicious links. Anderson said that security awareness training can reduce those risks “by approximately 70%.”
City Manager Justin Lewis described a prior incident in which the Caselle accounting system crashed and “years of information” from the utility database were lost, and said AllTech’s backup service helped retrieve the data “within a couple of hours,” illustrating the practical value of reliable backups.
During a question-and-answer exchange, Councilmember Chris Olsen asked whether camera footage has backup storage and whether the service carries a subscription fee. Anderson said footage is recorded to an on-site network video recorder that retains footage for 30 days, the hardware is purchased by the City and there is “no monthly fee for the service,” and he identified Hikvision as the vendor used.
Councilmember Todd Orme and others pressed AllTech on vulnerability discovery and remediation. Anderson said he supports vulnerability scanning but noted it adds cost; he recommended work on the city’s network architecture and segmentation as near-term priorities. At Olsen’s request, Anderson said he will research additional training tools beyond the state-mandated options.
Mayor Aaron Rudie asked for a prioritized list of recommendations with associated costs; Anderson agreed to provide that information to the council.
The council did not take formal action during the presentation. Mr. Lewis said he will circulate any materials AllTech provides; no timeline for implementation was set.
