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Washington idle as ransomware ravages cities big and small [View all]
Source: Politico
Washington idle as ransomware ravages cities big and small
Lawmakers have offered few ideas on how to respond to the wave of ransom-seeking cyberattacks that have struck at least 80 state and local government agencies.
By TIM STARKS
09/28/2019 06:33 AM EDT
Ransomware attacks paralyzed Baltimore’s computer networks for much of the spring, shutting down the systems that collect parking ticket fines and water bills. Hackers took out City Hall’s help line in Akron, Ohio, during a major snowstorm. In Lincoln County, N.C., sheriff’s deputies had to take crime reports with pen and paper as their computers went dark.
Yet Washington has remained largely on the sidelines.
Lawmakers have offered few ideas on how to respond to the wave of ransom-seeking cyberattacks that have struck at least 80 state and local government agencies. Both the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI appear to be struggling with how to marshal resources to help victims, including basic questions of how they should respond or where they can turn for help.
Story Continued Below
“We don’t usually look to Washington to solve real problems we have in our daily life,” said Bill Beam, the sheriff in Lincoln County. But, he said, “I would welcome them with open arms to help us with a situation like this.”
Ransomware — generally perpetrated by foreign hackers — has become a costly headache for governments, businesses and ordinary people around the world, infecting and locking up their computers until victims pay up with Bitcoin or other digital currencies. Baltimore and Lincoln County each refused to pay ransoms but expect to spend big money to recover from the mayhem — $18.2 million and as much as $400,000, respectively.
Members of Congress have introduced only four pieces of legislation since January that even mention the word ransomware. None would begin to address the full scope of the attacks that experts say will become only more numerous and severe.
-snip-
Lawmakers have offered few ideas on how to respond to the wave of ransom-seeking cyberattacks that have struck at least 80 state and local government agencies.
By TIM STARKS
09/28/2019 06:33 AM EDT
Ransomware attacks paralyzed Baltimore’s computer networks for much of the spring, shutting down the systems that collect parking ticket fines and water bills. Hackers took out City Hall’s help line in Akron, Ohio, during a major snowstorm. In Lincoln County, N.C., sheriff’s deputies had to take crime reports with pen and paper as their computers went dark.
Yet Washington has remained largely on the sidelines.
Lawmakers have offered few ideas on how to respond to the wave of ransom-seeking cyberattacks that have struck at least 80 state and local government agencies. Both the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI appear to be struggling with how to marshal resources to help victims, including basic questions of how they should respond or where they can turn for help.
Story Continued Below
“We don’t usually look to Washington to solve real problems we have in our daily life,” said Bill Beam, the sheriff in Lincoln County. But, he said, “I would welcome them with open arms to help us with a situation like this.”
Ransomware — generally perpetrated by foreign hackers — has become a costly headache for governments, businesses and ordinary people around the world, infecting and locking up their computers until victims pay up with Bitcoin or other digital currencies. Baltimore and Lincoln County each refused to pay ransoms but expect to spend big money to recover from the mayhem — $18.2 million and as much as $400,000, respectively.
Members of Congress have introduced only four pieces of legislation since January that even mention the word ransomware. None would begin to address the full scope of the attacks that experts say will become only more numerous and severe.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/09/28/ransomware-cities-washington-007376
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