Cyber attack on Montclair Township led to $450K settlement
Cyber attack on Montclair Township led to $450K settlement
Talia Wiener
Talia Wiener
Published: July 28, 2023
Montclair municipal building. (FILE PHOTO)
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To end a cyber attack on the Montclair Township’s IT Department, the township’s insurer negotiated a settlement of $450,000 with the attackers.
The Garden State Joint Insurance Fund made the deal as law enforcement began investigations into possible criminal charges, Joseph Hartnett, interim township manager, said Thursday.
With the help of the insurance company, state and federal authorities, including the FBI, the attack was “resolved to the point that data critical to township business and operations has been recovered,” Hartnett said.
Some data belonging to individual users remains to be recovered, along with some data connected to outside vendors that serve the township with the storage of past records, Hartnett said.
That missing data affects the township’s ability to respond to some Open Public Records Act requests, he said.
“To guard against future incidents, the township has installed the most sophisticated dual authentication system available to its own system and it is currently up and running,” Hartnett said.
Another update — including information on the impact of the attack, how long it lasted and the status of the unrecovered data — will be shared next week, Hartnett said.
After the attack, Mayor Sean Spiller took to YouTube to inform residents of the situation.
“Our township will remain focused on protecting the system and restoring full access to our systems and services,” Spiller said in the June 6 video.
Talia Wiener
Talia Wiener
Published: July 28, 2023
Montclair municipal building. (FILE PHOTO)
SHARE ON FACEBOOK
SHARE ON TWITTER
To end a cyber attack on the Montclair Township’s IT Department, the township’s insurer negotiated a settlement of $450,000 with the attackers.
The Garden State Joint Insurance Fund made the deal as law enforcement began investigations into possible criminal charges, Joseph Hartnett, interim township manager, said Thursday.
With the help of the insurance company, state and federal authorities, including the FBI, the attack was “resolved to the point that data critical to township business and operations has been recovered,” Hartnett said.
Some data belonging to individual users remains to be recovered, along with some data connected to outside vendors that serve the township with the storage of past records, Hartnett said.
That missing data affects the township’s ability to respond to some Open Public Records Act requests, he said.
“To guard against future incidents, the township has installed the most sophisticated dual authentication system available to its own system and it is currently up and running,” Hartnett said.
Another update — including information on the impact of the attack, how long it lasted and the status of the unrecovered data — will be shared next week, Hartnett said.
After the attack, Mayor Sean Spiller took to YouTube to inform residents of the situation.
“Our township will remain focused on protecting the system and restoring full access to our systems and services,” Spiller said in the June 6 video.
