Green Garden Township’s digital infrastructure is vulnerable to cybercrime and requires an immediate overhaul, including adopting a modern, secure email system and multifactor authentication, an IT consultant told the board at its July 28 workshop.

Jeff Ryder, from the Frankfort-based firm RWK IT Services, delivered a sobering assessment of the township’s current security posture, warning that its legacy systems leave it exposed to financially motivated hackers.

“In the business world, [antivirus] is not enough,” Ryder said. “What’s happening every single week in the news you’ll hear about a breach somewhere, and those breaches are designed for the sole purpose of stealing money.”

Ryder identified the township’s email, which is bundled with its website hosting service, as a primary weakness. He explained that the system lacks the ability to implement multifactor authentication (MFA), a common security measure that requires a secondary verification, like a code sent to a phone, to log in.

“Many of us in this room might be familiar with what’s called multifactor authentication,” Ryder explained. “If we go to our bank…they force us to receive a text message when we log on to determine that it’s really us… That email system…doesn’t provide for the ability to be protected.”

To mitigate this risk, Ryder recommended migrating the township to a professional email and file storage platform, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. He noted that such services not only provide robust security but also offer centralized cloud storage, which would safeguard township records and allow for automated data backups. Currently, officials’ files are stored on individual computers, creating “islands of information” that are vulnerable to hardware failure or a security breach.

The move would represent a new operating expense, with costs estimated at $12 to $30 per user per month for the email and storage service, plus an additional $15 to $30 per machine for enhanced cybersecurity protection.

The discussion was spurred by immediate technological problems in the assessor’s office. Assessor Jane Bushong informed the board of pressing issues that required professional attention.

“I’ve got firewall issues. I’ve got licensing issues right now, which are huge,” Bushong stated. “I’ve got to get addressed probably very soon.”

In response, the board authorized RWK IT Services to begin immediate, billable “time and materials” work to resolve the assessor’s operational problems while the board considers the broader, township-wide security upgrades. Ryder said his firm would conduct a no-cost risk assessment of the township’s computers to provide a specific set of recommendations.

Ryder also advised the board to review its cyber liability insurance policy, provided through Township Officials of Illinois (TOI), to ensure its current practices meet the policy’s requirements for security controls. Answering a policy questionnaire incorrectly could jeopardize the ability to file a successful claim after a cyberattack.

The board took no formal action on the wider cybersecurity proposals but will move forward with addressing the assessor’s urgent needs.