After the recent ransomware attack on Suffolk County exposed the vulnerabilities facing the municipality, officials in East Hampton planned to spend $865,000 to bolster the town’s cybersecurity measures. I’m here.
Heath Liebman, the town’s network and system administrator, recommended that the town adopt a cybersecurity service that can monitor and respond to cyber threats around the clock, and implement a cloud-based backup service to protect its data. recommended to
The Town Board approved a bond resolution on December 20 to cover the cost of these services.
In a virtual presentation at the board meeting, Liebman said these services will provide “stronger disaster recovery plans” and reduce the current burden. Enable information technology staff and departments to “leverage vendor expertise.”
His presentation showed that the cybersecurity service offers so-called managed detection and response. The service has a team of experts monitoring the town’s “endpoints, networks and cloud environments” to look for and respond to threats.
Adding cloud-based services can also protect towns from physical disasters such as fires, Liebman said.Data is currently backed up in multiple locations onsite, but in the cloud Provides additional protection.
“We can now restore data quickly,” said the IT expert. In an emergency, the town “will still have access to that data and won’t have to wait until the site is cleared,” Liebman added.
The town’s purchasing department is currently working with vendors to purchase the hardware and software needed for the upgrade.
Steve Morgan, founder of Northport-based cybersecurity market research firm Cybersecurity Ventures, told Newsday that every organization, whether it is a business or a government agency, is immune to being hacked. I said no.
“Local governments are at even more risk because they exist to serve their residents digitally and otherwise,” he said in an email.
Morgan added that many local governments operate on decades-old outdated systems. He said cloud-based backups should be standard practice, allowing local governments to have “much better protection than their own.”
He said cloud backups serve as part of an incident response plan should an organization be hit by ransomware. Restoring data and getting systems back online may still be “easier said than done”, which could leave local governments down for long periods after an attack.
East Hampton supervisor Peter Van Skyock said it was important for the town to take steps to protect internet technology.
“We are witnessing the impact of cyberattacks on Suffolk County, many of which have actually spilled over to other municipalities,” he said.
The supervisor added that the board had “thumbs up” with the town’s IT department to find ways to improve cyber protection.
“Time is of the essence, so we felt very strongly that we should try to fund these initiatives now rather than waiting for the completion of our normal capital plans,” said Van Scoyoc. I’m here.
The hackers demanded a $2.5 million ransom from Suffolk County, but nothing was paid, county commissioner Steve Bellone said in December.
According to a digital forensic auditor the county later hired, the cyberattack on county systems began as early as December 2021 at the clerk’s office.
County officials discovered the attack in September and extended the ongoing recovery period.
Bellone said at a press conference in December that Suffolk had spent $3.4 million on restoration work and $2 million on forensic investigations.
After the recent ransomware attack on Suffolk County exposed the vulnerabilities facing the municipality, officials in East Hampton planned to spend $865,000 to bolster the town’s cybersecurity measures. I’m here.
Heath Liebman, the town’s network and system administrator, recommended that the town adopt a cybersecurity service that can monitor and respond to cyber threats around the clock, and implement a cloud-based backup service to protect its data. recommended to
The Town Board approved a bond resolution on December 20 to cover the cost of these services.
In a virtual presentation at the board meeting, Liebman said these services will provide “stronger disaster recovery plans” and reduce the current burden. Enable information technology staff and departments to “leverage vendor expertise.”
His presentation showed that the cybersecurity service offers so-called managed detection and response. The service has a team of experts monitoring the town’s “endpoints, networks and cloud environments” to look for and respond to threats.
Adding cloud-based services can also protect towns from physical disasters such as fires, Liebman said.Data is currently backed up in multiple locations onsite, but in the cloud Provides additional protection.
“We can now restore data quickly,” said the IT expert. In an emergency, the town “will still have access to that data and won’t have to wait until the site is cleared,” Liebman added.
The town’s purchasing department is currently working with vendors to purchase the hardware and software needed for the upgrade.
Steve Morgan, founder of Northport-based cybersecurity market research firm Cybersecurity Ventures, told Newsday that every organization, whether it is a business or a government agency, is immune to being hacked. I said no.
“Local governments are at even more risk because they exist to serve their residents digitally and otherwise,” he said in an email.
Morgan added that many local governments operate on decades-old outdated systems. He said cloud-based backups should be standard practice, allowing local governments to have “much better protection than their own.”
He said cloud backups serve as part of an incident response plan should an organization be hit by ransomware. Restoring data and getting systems back online may still be “easier said than done”, which could leave local governments down for long periods after an attack.
East Hampton supervisor Peter Van Skyock said it was important for the town to take steps to protect internet technology.
“We are witnessing the impact of cyberattacks on Suffolk County, many of which have actually spilled over to other municipalities,” he said.
The supervisor added that the board had “thumbs up” with the town’s IT department to find ways to improve cyber protection.
“Time is of the essence, so we felt very strongly that we should try to fund these initiatives now rather than waiting for the completion of our normal capital plans,” said Van Scoyoc. I’m here.
The hackers demanded a $2.5 million ransom from Suffolk County, but nothing was paid, county commissioner Steve Bellone said in December.
According to a digital forensic auditor the county later hired, the cyberattack on county systems began as early as December 2021 at the clerk’s office.
County officials discovered the attack in September and extended the ongoing recovery period.
Bellone said at a press conference in December that Suffolk had spent $3.4 million on restoration work and $2 million on forensic investigations.
