City Governments are Very Vulnerable as highlighted by Ransomware Attack Disabled the City of Oakland!

GovInfoSecurity.com reported “The California city of Oakland is in a state of emergency as its response to a ransomware attack enters its second week.”  The February 15, 2023 report entitled “Oakland Declares Emergency Following Ransomware Attack” (https://tinyurl.com/yc3pv8x5) included these comments:

The ransomware attack, detected during the night of Feb. 8, forced the closure of Oakland City Hall. The city says the attack left "several nonemergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland impacted or offline." The attack did not affect emergency systems, including 911 dispatch and fire services, or the city's financial systems, the city says. Oakland police have warned the attack is delaying responses to nonemergency matters. 

Which ransomware criminal group is behind the attack and the amount of its extortion demand are currently known. Oakland says it "working with a leading forensics firm to perform an extensive incident response and analysis," and law enforcement agencies from all levels of government, including federal, are investigating the attack. 

Ransomware attacks show no signs of slowing although fewer victims are paying the extortion demand. This change has led to a significant fall in ransomware gang revenue (see: Ransomware Profits Dip as Fewer Victims Pay Extortion). 

How prepared is your community?