Utility billing and permit applications in Apex North Carolina were halted last week after a cyber incident which began on Tuesday was later discovered to be an attempted Ransomware attack.
The city made a statement regarding the incident citing North Carolina state law which prohibits making payments for ransom. There is an ongoing recovery effort still under way and details about where the attack originated and what the total impact was are yet to be disclosed.
The targeting of municipal systems, utilities, and infrastructure related services has been very popular over the past 9 months. FBI Cyber has released several official notices warning about targeting and CISA has been active discussing mitigation tactics and what to be prepared for.
The question that should be on all of our minds as we read these stories is "How prepared are my local utility/government/emergency services...."
The answer may be a tad bit uncomfortable. Attacks on utility services rose 200% in 2023. While an increase of that magnitude is alarming what may be even more concerning is the fact that when surveyed more than 40% of utilities did not feel confident in deploying necessary skills and experience to protect against or recover from a sophisticated cyber attack. Now, if survey science holds true....40% admitting they are not prepared means that number could be uncomfortably higher.
Where does that leave us? What are the public, the consumer, the family or business that relies on these services/entities supposed to do when faced with this information? The answer sounds cliché, but I will say it anyway. Get involved, get educated, ask the tough questions, demand answers, hold people accountable.
We cannot sit idly by hoping that everyone is doing their job, keeping us safe. Adhering to the latest standards or conducting regular audits to ensure they are discovering vulnerabilities and approaching security proactively.
I take it back....we can hope, but its foolish to do so. Rather than hope I encourage you to act.
Harden the Target, Stay Vigilant!
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Utility billing and permit applications in Apex North Carolina were halted last week after a cyber incident which began on Tuesday was later discovered to be an attempted Ransomware attack.
The city made a statement regarding the incident citing North Carolina state law which prohibits making payments for ransom. There is an ongoing recovery effort still under way and details about where the attack originated and what the total impact was are yet to be disclosed.
The targeting of municipal systems, utilities, and infrastructure related services has been very popular over the past 9 months. FBI Cyber has released several official notices warning about targeting and CISA has been active discussing mitigation tactics and what to be prepared for.
The question that should be on all of our minds as we read these stories is "How prepared are my local utility/government/emergency services...."
The answer may be a tad bit uncomfortable. Attacks on utility services rose 200% in 2023. While an increase of that magnitude is alarming what may be even more concerning is the fact that when surveyed more than 40% of utilities did not feel confident in deploying necessary skills and experience to protect against or recover from a sophisticated cyber attack. Now, if survey science holds true....40% admitting they are not prepared means that number could be uncomfortably higher.
Where does that leave us? What are the public, the consumer, the family or business that relies on these services/entities supposed to do when faced with this information? The answer sounds cliché, but I will say it anyway. Get involved, get educated, ask the tough questions, demand answers, hold people accountable.
We cannot sit idly by hoping that everyone is doing their job, keeping us safe. Adhering to the latest standards or conducting regular audits to ensure they are discovering vulnerabilities and approaching security proactively.
I take it back....we can hope, but its foolish to do so. Rather than hope I encourage you to act.
Harden the Target, Stay Vigilant!