The Onondaga County Department of Management and Budget, Financial Operations Division (hereinafter, “the County”) takes payer information confidentiality and computer security very seriously. The County's Web site uses industry standard security measures. We also employ the use of digital certificates on our Web site to provide a secure, encrypted connection between capable Web browsers and our Web servers. This secure, encrypted connection is required by our servers whenever and wherever you are asked to enter information that may be considered confidential. Please see Digital certificates for more information.
The County also takes this opportunity to remind you that security of computerized information is a shared responsibility. The security precautions implemented by the County may be of little value to you if your computer is being compromised by unchecked viruses, spyware, or other malware which may provide a means for unauthorized third parties to gain access to your information. The County encourages and reminds you to be an active participant in ensuring the security of your information by installing firewall protection, using anti-virus protection, using anti-spyware protection and downloading security updates and patches onto your computer. For more information concerning how you can protect your computerized information, visit the Web sites of the New York State Office of Cyber Security and the Office of the New York State Attorney General, containing links to useful information concerning safeguarding your computer.
We encourage you to read below for more information on the security measures the County has in place to protect the confidentiality of your online transactions.
The County also recognizes that it is important for individuals and businesses to be confident that their privacy is protected when they visit the County’s Web site. Please see our Privacy Policy for detailed information concerning the County’s Web site privacy practices.
Security measures employed by the County of Onondaga
The County employs strict security measures and Web security best practices to protect payer information.
- The County's Web site uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), the industry standard security protocol, to securely communicate with web browsers. SSL ensures your private information is encrypted between your internet browser and County computer systems.
- The County uses digital certificates. We register with a trusted third-party certification authority to receive a digital certificate that you can use to verify the identity of our Web site. You can verify that you're at a trusted County website by checking the browser bar for the “https” URL, and the lock icon that will appear on secured areas of our website.
- The County uses firewalls to block potentially destructive information from entering our computer systems and prevent unauthorized access. Firewall systems are hardware devices and software systems that provide a barrier against hackers and viruses. Firewalls are deployed throughout the County's network to allow only authorized network traffic.
- The County uses intrusion detection systems that continuously monitor our computer network to detect unauthorized attempts to breach our computer systems or the misuse of County computer systems.
- The County regularly patches and monitors its computer systems to ensure that our systems are protected against vulnerabilities that, unfortunately, are so prevalent on the Internet today. Patching and monitoring computer systems provides another layer of protection by closing the loopholes that internet hackers may try to exploit.
The County also uses security measures to protect the confidentiality of payer information stored on our computer systems. The County follows industry standard best practices for protecting and securing its information technology assets including, but not limited to, authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. Security procedures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day operations of the County as part of our continuing commitment to security of information.
The County is committed to protecting your information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Access to confidential information is limited to those personnel who need it to perform their official duties and responsibilities. Employees and contractors who have access to County information are regularly trained to follow appropriate procedures when accessing confidential payer information. County personnel access your information only within the scope of their assigned duties and responsibilities.
Disclaimer
The information provided herein should not be construed as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided via this Web site. |
Onondaga County (the “County”) takes payer information confidentiality and computer security very seriously. The County’s Web site uses industry standard security measures. We also employ the use of digital certificates on our Web site to provide a secure, encrypted connection between capable Web browsers and our Web servers. This secure, encrypted connection is required by our servers whenever and wherever you are asked to enter information that may be considered confidential.
The County maintains a number of secure applications on multiple servers. Each secure server maintains its own extended validation digital certificate obtained from a certification authority.
The County's secure web applications display this certificate information at the top of the browser bar. Here's an example:
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