Suffolk County services crippled by cyber attack.
A cyber attack has targeted the computer systems of several departments in Suffolk County, shutting down many government services. The hackers have sent messages saying they will release more documents on the Dark Web if they do not receive communication from Suffolk County.
Suffolk County discovered its computer networks were hacked, but while some county services are still offline, the hackers are upping the ante. The group behind the cyber attack posted documents with personal information obtained from the hack on the dark web and threatens to post more if the county does not negotiate a price with them.
The published documents include a county payment invoice for a court case, a name change application with personal information and a communication from an attorney to traffic court, his client’s names, dates of births and ID numbers.
The hackers say they have thousands of files taken from county court records, the Sheriff’s Office, contracts and the personal data of citizens as well as county employees. The County’s incident response team is assessing this information and working closely with law enforcement agencies.
Suffolk County should not pay the ransom Nor should they engage with the ransomware group. Experts argue the groups could be funding cyber crime enterprises and that the county should just focus on securing their networks for the future.