Ransomware attacks can hamstring governments

JEFFERSON, Ga. — On the first Saturday in March, computer screens at the 911 dispatch center in this small town went dark.

Staff at the county jail around the same time could no longer open cell doors remotely with electronic controls, and sheriff's deputies lost the use of their laptops to look up license plates.

Jackson County was under a ransomware attack.

"It really crippled us as far as just made it harder for our folks to work and do their jobs," Sheriff Janis Mangum said of the two-week attack, which the county paid $400,000 to end.

Ransomware attacks have taken out computer systems at law enforcement agencies and local governments around the country in recent years, forcing them to revert to pen and paper for tasks typically done in an instant on computers.

The attacks have slowed commerce by making electronic copies of real-estate records inaccessible and taking down online payment features.

They can also endanger people when they affect critical law enforcement systems or school security.

Officials at Flagstaff

Unified School District in Arizona closed schools for two days in September after ransomware forced them to disconnect from the internet, taking down security and information systems.

Baltimore in 2018 and Riviera Beach, Florida, earlier this year also lost 911 dispatch functions.

In July, a ransomware attack forced the Georgia Department of Public Safety to shut down laptops that troopers use in their patrol cars to monitor emergencies and prepare traffic citations, Lt. Stephanie Stallings said.

Law enforcement officials and cybersecurity experts said they were not aware of ransomware causing delays that led to death or serious injury.

The cybersecurity firm Seculore Solutions has used news accounts to document nearly 400 cyberattacks over the last two years against public safety agencies and local governments, more than a quarter of them involving ransomware. And that's likely a fraction of the actual number, since smaller attacks that don't affect services probably go unnoticed, said Tim Lorello, the company's CEO.

Other big cities that have faced ransomware attacks include Atlanta and Newark, New Jersey. Hackers targeted more than 20 local governments in Texas in a coordinated attack in August.

"Public agencies are particularly attractive because they are 24-7," Lorello said. "A hacker thinks it's more likely that that the agency will pay the ransom and try to get back online."

Small counties, cities and agencies may also not have the money to upgrade their systems and keep them secure, said Tyler Hudak, with the information security firm Trustedsec.

"If I were an attacker I would try to find somebody who had valuable data and did not have potentially the resources or means to protect that data properly," he said. "City governments definitely fall into that category."