Officials: Hackers first entered Suffolk County's system in 2021
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. -- New details were announced Wednesday about the cyberattack on Suffolk County's website that caused big problems for eight months.
County Executive Steve Bellone says a forensic investigation found hackers first entered the system in 2021 through a vulnerability in the clerk's office.
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"It describes in great detail the eight months that the criminal actors spent in the clerk's office, installing bitcoin mining software, establishing persistence, installing exfiltration tools, creating fake accounts, harvesting credentials and installation of remote monitoring tools to establish command and control," Bellone said.
Approximately 26,000 social security numbers and nearly half a million driver's license numbers were exposed.
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Hackers initially wanted a $2 million ransom. Bellone says none was paid.
