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West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio says money needed to protect against possible cyber, other threats

Posted at 5:18 PM, Mar 27, 2017
and last updated 2019-03-27 08:44:51-04

Five times since taking the oath of office, President Trump has come to Palm Beach County for the weekend.

That has West Palm Beach city leaders worried not about traffic, but about an increased chance of a cyber attack or other security threats.

Every time the President comes to town, Mayor Jeri Muoio fears the community becomes a target. She says the city needs to spend at minimum $400,000 to defend against cyber security threats.

"Trying to figure out what's going on with our IT system," says Muoio.

She also announced the city will need more than $4,000,000 of specialized equipment to handle a critical incident.

"We don't have equipment to handle that," the mayor says.

The mayor didn't elaborate on the equipment needed or the increased IT costs, but revealed the city has already fought off attempted hacks.

WPTV Cyber Security Expert Alan Crowetz with INFOSTREAM says he's not surprised the city has become a target for hackers and should be increasing cyber security. "People are going to have more interest than ever to find information. Legal issues, documents on file with the city. So he becomes a target, our area is getting more attention. It's just a right target to pick on."