Letter To The Editor: Support Select Board Vice Chair James Mackey

The following Letter to the Editor is from Joan Unger Harmon and Jim Harmon

Dear fellow voters of Tewksbury,

We need only look next door to Lowell to see how vulnerable cities and towns are to hackers. Recent attacks on Lowell's municipal and school IT systems have cost our neighbors many thousands of dollars in both lost revenue and costs to fix the problem, not to mention pay to help protect their employees from identity theft.

As a realtor, I know how important it is to keep our personal information private and secure. That's why I was so impressed with Select Board Vice Chair James Mackey's work bringing the Massachusetts Army and Air National Guard Cyber Team to Tewksbury last summer. Mackey is both an Army veteran and a cybersecurity professional and was able to get Tewksbury first in line to receive the two-week-long assessment service, which saved us many thousands of dollars and showed that our IT network, water treatment plant and electricity grid are secure.

James is also the founder of the Municipal Cyber Association (municipalcyber.org) which is an organization that is on a mission to strengthen cyber security across municipalities.

Tewksbury is very fortunate to have James on our Select Board. We need someone with his expertise. Please join us in voting to reelect James Mackey for the Tewksbury Select Board.

Sincerely,
Joan Unger Harmon and Jim Harmon

160 Cardigan Road, Tewksbury

Editor's Note: Opinions expressed in letters submitted to the editor are the author's own and do not reflect the opinions of Patch staff.