CMC Technology & Information Systems 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A municipal clerk receives a public records request for all city emails referencing a specific contract. Under most state public records laws, these emails are considered:
- Personal correspondence exempt from disclosure
- Public records subject to disclosure if related to official business (Correct answer)
- Privileged attorney-client communications automatically
- Records that can be withheld indefinitely for security reasons
Correct answer: Public records subject to disclosure if related to official business
Emails created or received in the course of conducting official government business are public records subject to disclosure under most state sunshine laws, regardless of whether they reside on a government or personal server.
Question 2: Which approach BEST protects a municipality from data loss when storing electronic records in the cloud?
- Storing records only in the cloud and deleting local copies to save space
- Requiring vendors to sign a service-level agreement (SLA) that includes data backup and recovery provisions (Correct answer)
- Using free consumer cloud services for convenience
- Encrypting files with a password known only to the clerk
Correct answer: Requiring vendors to sign a service-level agreement (SLA) that includes data backup and recovery provisions
A vendor SLA with explicit backup and recovery provisions legally obligates the provider to meet defined recovery time objectives and protects the municipality if data is lost or corrupted.
Question 3: Open data initiatives in municipal government primarily aim to:
- Restrict access to government data to approved researchers only
- Make government datasets publicly available in machine-readable formats (Correct answer)
- Automate the collection of property tax payments
- Replace paper records with electronic versions for internal use
Correct answer: Make government datasets publicly available in machine-readable formats
Open data initiatives publish government datasets in machine-readable formats (e.g., CSV, JSON) so residents, developers, and journalists can analyze, reuse, and build upon government information.
Question 4: Which cybersecurity practice is MOST effective in preventing unauthorized access to a clerk's electronic records system?
- Using the same strong password for all government systems for consistency
- Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all system logins (Correct answer)
- Sharing login credentials with trusted colleagues when on vacation
- Disabling automatic software updates to avoid system disruptions
Correct answer: Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all system logins
Multi-factor authentication requires users to verify identity through two or more factors (e.g., password plus a mobile code), significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access even if passwords are compromised.
Question 5: When transitioning from a paper-based records system to an electronic system, which step should a municipal clerk prioritize FIRST?
- Purchasing the most expensive software available
- Conducting a records inventory and developing a migration plan aligned with the retention schedule (Correct answer)
- Immediately shredding all paper records to free storage space
- Training staff on the new system before any planning is done
Correct answer: Conducting a records inventory and developing a migration plan aligned with the retention schedule
A thorough records inventory ensures that all records are identified, classified, and aligned with the retention schedule before migration, preventing loss of legally required records during the transition.
Question 6: A municipality's social media posts made by official accounts about public business are generally classified as:
- Personal expressions of the administrator's views, exempt from retention
- Public records subject to retention and potential disclosure (Correct answer)
- Temporary communications automatically deleted after 30 days
- Proprietary data owned by the social media platform
Correct answer: Public records subject to retention and potential disclosure
Official social media posts constitute public records because they document government activity and communications; municipalities must establish retention policies for social media content accordingly.
Question 7: Which system allows municipalities to accept digitally signed official documents while verifying the signer's identity through a trusted third party?
- Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) (Correct answer)
- Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) only
- Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)
Correct answer: Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
PKI uses digital certificates issued by a trusted Certificate Authority to authenticate signers and ensure that electronically signed documents have not been tampered with after signing.
CMC Technology & Information Systems 2
A municipal clerk receives a public records request for all city emails referencing a specific contract.
Under most state public records laws, these emails are considered: