Readers Write: Has Village of Great Neck government been hacked?

The Island Now

With a national trend towards hacking sensitive information and a recent computer upgrade by the Village of Great Neck, it seems reasonable to inquire whether or not the upgrade was a response to an earlier hacking the Mayor failed to reveal to residents.

This is a mayor who publicly flaunts the fact he is not obligated to respond to residents’ questions.  For those residents in attendance at the November 5, 2019 Board of Trustees meeting, it was announced that the new Village computer and phone system upgrade would prevent a cybersecurity breach.

Trustees Hope, Mendelson, Namdar and Sobel:

  • Has the Village of Great Neck already experienced a cybersecurity breach and were you and your fellow board members intending to hide it from village taxpayers?
  • If you were hacked, is there a process by which you would publicly announce what sensitive data, belonging to taxpayers was breached?
  • If you were hacked, would there be formal written notification to village taxpayers advising them of the security breach?
  • If you were hacked, would you inform the public of the dollar amount of ransomware paid out?
  • If you were hacked, would the village provide identity theft insurance to those taxpayers whose sensitive data was stolen?

Please do not refer me to the Freedom of Information Act for answers to the above questions since my experience and that of other truth-seeking taxpayers is that Village of Great Neck government demonstrates clear disregard for the FOIL process.

Suffice it to say, my local government routinely thumbs its nose at the fair practices and procedures in place to safeguard and inform citizens of their right to know.

With simultaneous proposals for development on Middle Neck Road, in the Village of Great Neck, and a mayor who routinely taunts residents with, “Why do you want to know?” when the identity of a prospective property-owner/developer is being requested – and withheld — my best advice – invest in a good crystal ball.  You can buy one on Amazon.

The next Board of Trustees meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Judy Shore Rosenthal

Great Neck

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