Suffolk officials now working with outside agencies to quell cyberattack against county government
SUFFOLK COUNTY -- Cybercriminals are taking credit for the Sept. 8 cyber hack on Suffolk County government, anonymously threatening to publish county documents unless they get cooperation.
But the bad actors have so far not gotten the money or cooperation they seek.
As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported Monday, outside agencies are mobilizing efforts to assist Long Island victims.
With computers down due to the cyber-hack, 911 calls into Suffolk County are answered, but information has to be hand written. Runners then deliver emergency messages to dispatchers who alert officers in the field.
But as this cybercrime stretches into its second week, the county is getting outside support.
"I would like to thank the state for their support, as well as the NYPD for providing us with some relief as we continue to navigate through this cyber intrusion," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said.
Officials say there is no danger to public safety, but add there is no immediate end in sight to solving the dark web hack.
"Cybercriminals. That's crazy to me," one resident said.
"We pay a lot in taxes in New York and for something like this to happen," another said.
The county has refused to communicate with the bad actors. One, "Black Cat," released information on a data breach web showing examples of its alleged extracted documents from court records, sheriff's office, state contracts, and some personal data.
"I'm worried about people getting my identification, stealing my identity, ruining my credit," Lake Grove resident Dan Taylor said.
At Suffolk's traffic agency, computers are down and drivers have been turned away.
"I had to take the day off from work. I feel like it is outrageous," one person said.
"The county spends millions of dollars on security. Obviously, we are not spending that money correctly. We need to find out what exactly happened and make sure it never happens again," Legislator Rob Trotta said.
The county says all its files are backed up.
Experts say there is a danger in meeting ransomware demands. It's not like a kidnapping, where money is exchanged for a person. This is virtual, with no guarantees the data will be returned.
"These bad actors are not in a basement with their hoodies on," said Kenneth Varone of Sourcepass Cybersecurity, adding it's big business and well funded.
"We're talking multi-billion dollar a year business for something that is malicious in content," Varone said.
Suffolk County has not yet divulged if the ransomware demanded a dollar amount in cryptocurrency. It is proceeding with the safe and secure restoration of its servers, and says, so far, county systems remain intact.
Suffolk County Exec. Steven Bellone said in a statement Tuesday, "While the assessment into the cyber intrusion continues, today the county submitted formal notification of a data breach to the Attorney General's Office in accordance with New York State law. The nature and extent of that breach remains under examination and the County will notify directly any individual whose data may have been exposed and offer free identity theft protection services."
