Public-records system compromise

The scenario

Your records system (vital records, property assessments, business licenses) shows signs of unauthorized access — altered entries, exported data, or a vendor security advisory naming your platform.

Who this is for: Town clerk, registrar, IT lead, CAO.

First steps

1. 1. Identify which record classes are involved

   First hour

   Vital records (birth, death, marriage) have separate state/provincial registrars and stricter notification rules than property or business records.

2. 2. Preserve audit logs before they roll off

   First hour

   Most municipal records systems retain access logs for 30–90 days. Export now to immutable storage.

3. 3. Notify the vendor in writing and request their breach report

   First day

   If the platform is Tyler, Granicus, CivicPlus, Accela, or similar, the vendor's security team owes you a coordinated disclosure timeline.

4. 4. Pause public-facing record lookups

   First day

   If altered records may have been served to residents (assessment values, certificates), pause the public portal until integrity is verified.

Continuity of service

• Vital records: coordinate with the state/provincial vital statistics office for fallback issuance.
• Property assessments: hold appeals deadlines; assessor's office issues a notice of pause.
• Business licenses: accept manual renewals at the counter; do not let licenses lapse due to a system outage.

Communication

Regulator hand-off

• US: state vital-records registrar, state AG, CISA via CIRCIA if critical-infrastructure thresholds apply.
• Canada: provincial vital statistics agency, provincial privacy commissioner, CCCS.

FAQ