Hackers targeting cities for ransoms

Cities increasingly face threats of cyberattacks that can halt basic operations of local government by locking up computer systems and public records and lead to high-price ransom demands by hackers.

Missouri Municipal League's Stuart Haynes said, "I think it is a real concern."

He added, "It is just going to grow."

Cyberattacks recently crippled nearly two dozen Texas cities, according to The Associated Press.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are working with the affected cities but declined to release the names of all 22 governments or provide any detail about how the hackers gained access to their systems.

Local governments that fail to keep reliable backups could be faced with paying ransoms or spending even more money to rebuild their computer networks.

In June, several Florida cities decided to pay hackers hundreds of thousands of dollars for a key to decrypt captive data, but officials told residents that they were only on the hook for a deductible. Most of the cost was to be covered by insurers, The Associated Press reported.

The Municipal League's Haynes said his organization has not taken a position on whether cities should pay ransoms.

Alan Shark, executive director of the Public Technology Institute, which provides training and other support for local government technology employees, said, "I think we're entering an epidemic stage," The Associated Press reported. "The bad actors have been emboldened."

The attacks can shut down government services. Libraries can't use electronic checkout systems. Police can't access electronic records, and utility bills must be paid with paper checks rather than online.

Protection is expensive, particularly for smaller cities whose employees may not be trained on the latest ransomware, which often spreads through emails containing malicious links or attachments. Hackers also can entice users to visit a compromised website and then encrypt files stored on a computer or network until a payment is made, The Associated Press reported.

Haynes, policy and membership associate for the league which represents Missouri's cities, said it can be a major threat for smaller cities that don't have the budgets or the information-technology staff to combat the problem.

"We are trying to raise the awareness on it," said Haynes, whose organization is looking to recommend cybersecurity firms to its members.

Haynes said it is important for local governments to back up their records.

Cape Girardeau city manager Scott Meyer said the city government routinely backs up its records and has implemented computer programs to guard against malware.

"If you are not backed up then all of your data is gone," said Meyer.

Programs to detect viruses are installed on all the city's computers.

"It is something we take very seriously," he said.

Local governments must continually be on guard for the latest cyberattack, he said.

"You always have to have people that are on the cutting edge of that," said Meyer.

Even with such defenses, there is no guarantee that a city services won't be harmed by a cyberattack, he said.

"Nothing is guaranteed, but we certainly don't want to be an easy target and I don't believe we are," Meyer said.

Jackson city officials agree that cyberattacks are a serious concern.

Joan Evans, director of information technology, said city staff have to be "constantly vigilant."

Evans said Jackson's city government uses both computer hardware and software to guard against hackers.

The challenge is that the threat is constantly evolving. "There is always something new coming along," she said.

Vigilant city staff, who use the local government's computers, are "the most important protection you have," Evans said.

Cities of all sizes have been targeted in recent years, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Newark, New Jersey; and Savannah, Georgia.

Baltimore officials refused a demand for about $76,000 in bitcoin to restore access to the city's network.

Federal prosecutors last year indicted two Iranian men for ransomware attacks on more than 200 victims, including Atlanta and Newark. The attacks netted more than $6 million and cost the affected governments and companies more than $30 million, The Associated Press said.

According to the FBI, more than 1,400 ransomware attacks were reported last year, and victims reported paying $3.6 million to hackers.

The FBI does not disclose how many of those reports came from state or local governments, but other research suggests they are a growing target for hackers, The Associated Press reported.

Intelligence analyst Allan Liska recorded 62 ransomware attacks so far this year on government entities, The Associated Press said. That number already exceeds last year's total of 54 based on media reports.

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