Pottawatomie Co. pays hackers to restore computer systems after cyber attack
Pottawatomie Co. pays hackers to restore computer systems after cyber attack
By Chris Fisher
Published: Oct. 1, 2021 at 3:19 PM BST
POTTAWATOMIE CO., Kan. (WIBW) - Officials in Pottawatomie County say computer systems are slowly being restored after a ransom was paid to hackers.
County officials say several of their servers were encrypted during a cyber attack on September 17, 2021.
The county was able to resolve the attack by paying less than 10% of the hacker’s original demands.
“The ransom was reduced by more than 90 percent from hackers’ original demand, an almost unheard-of outcome, every saved dollar of which is taxpayer revenue the county keeps to serve our citizens,” said County Administrator Chad Kinsley.
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The amount paid was not disclosed, however, WIBW-TV has filed an open records request to determine the specific amount that Pottawatomie Co. paid to resolve the ransomware attack.
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“We are a small county with small resources,” Kinsley said. “With the extraordinary demands that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on local governments like ours, we wanted to make sure that the hackers understood that there was no way we could even come close to meeting their demand,” he said. “We were focused on protecting taxpayers and doing everything we could to resolve the issue with as little as possible. We believe we succeeded at that.”
Pottawatomie Co. says their IT team has installed additional sensors on all servers to detect and prevent further attacks, and is still looking into how hackers gained access to their systems.
Meanwhile, staff is working to get some 150 county desktop and laptop computers back up and running. Officials say that could take up to eight hours per PC.
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Officials say most county offices are open and functional, but wait times may be longer than normal for various services.
System still down include county email and driver’s licenses, which is not managed by the county.
Pottawatomie County Cyber Attack
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Pottawatomie Co. services back to normal following cyber-attack
Pottawatomie Co. officials say services were back up as of Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 29.
By Chris Fisher
Published: Oct. 1, 2021 at 3:19 PM BST
POTTAWATOMIE CO., Kan. (WIBW) - Officials in Pottawatomie County say computer systems are slowly being restored after a ransom was paid to hackers.
County officials say several of their servers were encrypted during a cyber attack on September 17, 2021.
The county was able to resolve the attack by paying less than 10% of the hacker’s original demands.
“The ransom was reduced by more than 90 percent from hackers’ original demand, an almost unheard-of outcome, every saved dollar of which is taxpayer revenue the county keeps to serve our citizens,” said County Administrator Chad Kinsley.
ADVERTISEMENT
The amount paid was not disclosed, however, WIBW-TV has filed an open records request to determine the specific amount that Pottawatomie Co. paid to resolve the ransomware attack.
Pottawatomie Co. Cyber Attack
0:19
Pottawatomie Co. services back to normal following cyber-attack
0:39
Pottawatomie Co. officials report computers offline
“We are a small county with small resources,” Kinsley said. “With the extraordinary demands that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on local governments like ours, we wanted to make sure that the hackers understood that there was no way we could even come close to meeting their demand,” he said. “We were focused on protecting taxpayers and doing everything we could to resolve the issue with as little as possible. We believe we succeeded at that.”
Pottawatomie Co. says their IT team has installed additional sensors on all servers to detect and prevent further attacks, and is still looking into how hackers gained access to their systems.
Meanwhile, staff is working to get some 150 county desktop and laptop computers back up and running. Officials say that could take up to eight hours per PC.
ADVERTISEMENT
Officials say most county offices are open and functional, but wait times may be longer than normal for various services.
System still down include county email and driver’s licenses, which is not managed by the county.
Pottawatomie County Cyber Attack
Pottawatomie Co. cyber attack encrypts “multiple servers,” extent unclear
Officials in Pottawatomie County are assessing the extent of a cyber attack discovered last week.
DeSoto, Webster take precautions against cyber attacks that have affected other school districts
Pottawatomie Co. officials report computers offline
Pottawatomie Co. residents may have a difficult time using the county website on Tuesday.
Aaron Edwards, an engineer at WIBW-TV said hackers gaining access to records for financial gain...
Pottawatomie Co. services back to normal following cyber-attack
Pottawatomie Co. officials say services were back up as of Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 29.
