City of Pensacola: Oakland ransomware attack: Here's a look at how other cities solved their cyberattacks

Oakland Ransomware Attack Highlights Ongoing Threats to U.S. Cities

Over a week after Oakland, California, disclosed a ransomware attack, city services remain disrupted, with some municipal buildings closed and operations forced offline. The incident reflects a growing trend of cyberattacks targeting local governments, with recent victims including New Orleans and Pensacola, Florida.

New Orleans suffered a ransomware attack in late 2019 after IT staff detected unauthorized access to privileged accounts. The city reverted to manual processes as systems were taken offline, taking 10 days to restore partial functionality and 20 days for full recovery. The attack cost over $5 million, prompting a rebuild of its IT environment from clean backups rather than paying the ransom.

Pensacola faced a similar attack, with signs posted on computers warning employees not to power them on. Critical services, including online bill pay, email, and the city website, were knocked offline. The recovery effort cost approximately $400,000, with an external tech firm assisting in remediation. Like New Orleans, Pensacola refused to engage with the attackers.

Both cities responded by increasing cybersecurity investments, emphasizing proactive measures to prevent future breaches. The attacks underscore the financial and operational toll of ransomware on municipal governments, as well as the challenges of restoring services without capitulating to extortion demands.

Source: https://abc7news.com/post/oakland-ransomware-attack-cyberattack-system-down-cybersecurity/12851277/

City of Pensacola Government cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/city-of-pensacola-government

"id": "CIT1780100768",
"linkid": "city-of-pensacola-government",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "2/2023",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'public sector',
                        'location': 'California, USA',
                        'name': 'Oakland',
                        'type': 'city government'},
                       {'industry': 'public sector',
                        'location': 'Louisiana, USA',
                        'name': 'New Orleans',
                        'type': 'city government'},
                       {'industry': 'public sector',
                        'location': 'Florida, USA',
                        'name': 'Pensacola',
                        'type': 'city government'}],
 'description': 'Over a week after Oakland, California, disclosed a ransomware '
                'attack, city services remain disrupted, with some municipal '
                'buildings closed and operations forced offline. The incident '
                'reflects a growing trend of cyberattacks targeting local '
                'governments.',
 'impact': {'operational_impact': 'disrupted city services, municipal '
                                  'buildings closed, operations forced offline',
            'systems_affected': 'city services, municipal buildings, '
                                'operations'},
 'lessons_learned': 'The attacks underscore the financial and operational toll '
                    'of ransomware on municipal governments, as well as the '
                    'challenges of restoring services without capitulating to '
                    'extortion demands.',
 'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': 'Increased cybersecurity '
                                                  'investments, proactive '
                                                  'measures (New Orleans, '
                                                  'Pensacola)'},
 'ransomware': {'ransom_paid': 'false (New Orleans, Pensacola)'},
 'recommendations': 'Increase cybersecurity investments, emphasize proactive '
                    'measures to prevent future breaches.',
 'response': {'containment_measures': 'systems taken offline, manual processes '
                                      '(New Orleans)',
              'remediation_measures': 'rebuild of IT environment from clean '
                                      'backups (New Orleans)',
              'third_party_assistance': 'external tech firm (Pensacola)'},
 'title': 'Oakland Ransomware Attack',
 'type': 'ransomware'}