Reston Association Migrates to Cloud Infrastructure Amid IT Security Concerns

Reston Association has shifted to cloud platforms amid an ongoing conversation on how to address IT security concerns. Some members of RA’s Board of Directors are pushing for the creation of a new IT committee that would guide RA staff on best practices for IT security.

The discussion comes after some board members expressed major concerns about how personal data is stored, why RA’s website was suddenly taken down that year, and allocated funding for IT-related projects.

In a letter to members today, RA noted that its IT department has taken ‘a number of steps to fortify and protect members’ information.’

Currently, no member data is hosted on RA systems, a shift from previous years. The organization transitioned to vendor-hosted software as well.

More from the letter is below.

RA member data related to annual assessment payments, recreational registrations, covenants records and other external business transactions are now on cloud systems managed by professional vendors who use the latest security standards to protect private information. 

Additionally, internal business operations such as email and document-sharing systems have been migrated to Microsoft Office 365 cloud platform. The Microsoft platform offers increased security features that combat social engineering, phishing and other online threats.

As new technologies to address security issues are ever-evolving, RA’s IT team is constantly reviewing controls and policies to protect the organization and its members’ private information. RA wants to ensure members that their data and personal information is safeguarded by a robust cloud-based network of vendors that uses the industry’s highest standards to protect all data.

RA’s Board Governance Committee will review the proposal for a new IT committee on March 4. The meeting takes place via Zoom at 6:30 p.m.