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Guide · By industry
Security basics for city staff
Cities hold records, money and services residents depend on, which makes them a favorite target. Every employee is part of the defense.
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What's inside
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Why cities get targeted
- Public email addresses and staff names make scam emails easy to aim.
- Payments to vendors and contractors are attractive to payment fraud.
- Service outages put pressure on a city to pay a ransom quickly.
- Email and records may be public, so scammers can study how you work.
Everyday habits
Do
- ✓Lock your screen every time you step away
- ✓Use two-step sign-in and never approve a prompt you didn't start
- ✓Call vendors on a known number before changing payment details
- ✓Report strange emails, calls and pop-ups right away
- ✓Keep work on city devices and city accounts
Don't
- ✕Share sign-ins at the front counter or between shifts
- ✕Plug in USB drives from the public or vendors
- ✕Use personal email for city business
- ✕Let a visitor use a staff computer
- ✕Ignore an alert because "IT will see it"
Public records and email
- Assume anything you write in city email may become a public record. Keep it professional.
- Don't move city business to text messages or personal accounts. It may still be a record, and it's not protected.
- Ask your clerk before deleting email that might be a record.
Scams aimed at cities
- 1
Fake vendor payment changes.
A contractor's "new bank account". Always call the vendor on a number already on file.
- 2
Fake resident or records requests
with attachments or links. Open them only through your normal records system.
- 3
Fake calls from "IT" or the state.
Hang up and call back on a number you know before giving access or codes.
- 4
Urgent requests from an official.
A council member or the manager asking for money or gift cards by email is a scam.
Something looks wrong?
Call your IT support before you click, pay or reply. Forward odd emails to check@scan.fluxlabs.net for a free verdict.
By industry
More printables like this
Protecting client confidentiality
Your duty to keep client information private covers email, phones and files too. A yearly check for every attorney and staff member.
Protect criminal justice information
Records, reports and database results must stay with the people allowed to see them. These rules come from the CJIS security policy.
Questions about anything in here?
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