Luzerne County needs outside assistance to overcome cyber attack

guest · May 31, 2019

Luzerne County needs outside assistance to overcome cyber attack
May 30, 2019
https://www.timesleader.com/news/74...s-outside-assistance-to-overcome-cyber-attack

Luzerne County is calling in an outside vendor to help assess the extent of damage caused by a cyber attack that has prompted the administration to shut down some computer work stations and servers, county Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik said Thursday afternoon.

The shutdown was necessary to prevent spreading of the virus, which was detected by the county’s network monitoring systems last Saturday afternoon, Parsnik has said.
The attack appears to have been limited to the county courthouse network, [...] The unknown attackers likely got into the system through an email attachment unknowingly opened by a worker, Parsnik said.
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There’s no evidence at this time that the attack originated from another country or that data was stolen, and it is not a situation where the county has been locked out of its computer systems pending payment of a bit coin ransom, he said.
Due to concerns about cyber threats, the county last year started flagging all incoming emails from non-county senders with a notice reminding staff not to open attachments or click links unless they are sure it is safe.
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guest · Jun 18, 2019

Experts Give Early Assessment of Luzerne County Cyberattack
June 17, 2019
https://www.govtech.com/security/Experts-Give-Early-Assessment-of-Luzerne-County-Cyberattack.html

Up-to-date software, user training and vigilance are the best defenses against computer viruses and cyberthreats like the one that crippled the Luzerne County Courthouse’s computer network.

A forensic investigation into how the Luzerne County computers were infected begins soon, but officials suspect someone connected to the network opened an attachment to a fraudulent email that contained a virus.
“It’s been my experience that email is the No. 1 vector for things coming in. It’s going to be in some sort of an attachment.”

“If you don’t expect to get an invoice or you don’t expect to get an attachment of something from whoever is sending it to you, don’t open it,” he said.
Lackawanna County Chief Information Officer Jeff Mando agreed, noting in a written statement that the biggest threat to the county’s cybersecurity is employees not knowing what to look for and what preventative measures to take to protect data.
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guest · Oct 6, 2019

Will Luzerne County’s OT Costs Be Covered By Cyberinsurance?
October 4, 2019
https://www.govtech.com/security/Will-Luzerne-Countys-OT-Costs-Be-Covered-By-Cyberinsurance.html

Luzerne County is waiting to hear if overtime costs associated with a May cyberattack on the county computer network will be fully covered under the county's cyber-risk insurance policy.

The county accumulated $22,432.97 in overtime costs as it recovered from the attack that was discovered over Memorial Day weekend, according to county Manager David Pedri.
That amount has been submitted to Travelers, the insurance company with which the county has cyber-risk coverage, Pedri said Thursday.
The county did not pay any form of ransom to have the computer system restored, Pedri said.

Officials have said the most likely cause of the cyberattack was an employee opening a fraudulent email attachment that contained a virus, possibly timed to "detonate" later.
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