Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO)

The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO) suffered a ransomware cyber attack at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, compromising more than a dozen computers connected to its systems. While the jail’s security computers remained unaffected (operating on a separate server), the attack disrupted employee access, forcing IT teams assisted by state and local cybercrime units to restore systems, secure the network, and trace the attack’s origin. The incident follows a 2019 City Hall breach that cost $7 million and took months to resolve, raising concerns over potential financial strain, as OPSO is already grappling with a $9 million budget shortfall and recent security failures, including a detainee escape in May. The attack’s scope remains undisclosed, but historical parallels (e.g., Atlanta and Baltimore’s 2018–2019 ransomware attacks) suggest possible multi-million-dollar recovery costs, operational disruptions (e.g., vendor payments, court delays), and reputational damage. Louisiana’s Emergency Support Function 17 a rapid-response IT team was deployed, reflecting the attack’s severity amid a broader trend of underfunded local governments being prime targets for ransomware due to vulnerable infrastructure and sensitive data access.

Source: https://www.govtech.com/security/ransomware-attack-targets-orleans-parish-sheriffs-office

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/orleans-parish-sheriff's-office

"id": "orl2463724090625",
"linkid": "orleans-parish-sheriff's-office",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "6/2018",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'public safety/corrections',
                        'location': 'New Orleans, Louisiana, USA',
                        'name': "Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO)",
                        'size': '800 employees',
                        'type': 'government agency (law enforcement)'}],
 'data_breach': {'data_encryption': ['ransomware encrypted data on compromised '
                                     'systems']},
 'date_detected': '2023-11-XXT04:30:00 (early Thursday, ~4:30 AM; discovered '
                  'at ~8:00 AM)',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2023-11-XX (same day as detection)',
 'description': "Online hackers struck the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office "
                '(OPSO) in a ransomware attack on Thursday, compromising more '
                'than a dozen computers connected to the OPSO system. The '
                "jail's security computers were not affected, but the attack "
                'disrupted operations for the 800-person agency. The IT team '
                'is actively working to restore systems and secure the '
                'network, assisted by state and local cybersecurity units. The '
                'attack follows a history of cyber incidents in New Orleans, '
                'including a 2019 City Hall breach that cost $7 million to '
                'remediate.',
 'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': ['public disclosure of cyberattack',
                                        'potential erosion of trust in '
                                        "agency's IT security"],
            'operational_impact': ['disrupted employee logins',
                                   'potential administrative delays (excluding '
                                   'jail security functions)',
                                   'ongoing recovery efforts'],
            'systems_affected': ['more than a dozen computers connected to the '
                                 'OPSO system']},
 'investigation_status': 'ongoing (origin of attack under investigation)',
 'ransomware': {'data_encryption': True},
 'references': [{'source': 'The New Orleans Sentinel (TNS)'},
                {'source': 'Historical context: 2019 City Hall cyberattack '
                           '(New Orleans)'},
                {'source': 'Louisiana Emergency Support Function 17 (ESF-17) '
                           'cyber response team'}],
 'response': {'communication_strategy': ['public statement by Sheriff Susan '
                                         'Hutson',
                                         'video statement'],
              'containment_measures': ['isolated compromised systems',
                                       'jail systems on separate server '
                                       'remained functional'],
              'incident_response_plan_activated': True,
              'law_enforcement_notified': True,
              'network_segmentation': True,
              'remediation_measures': ['IT team restoring systems',
                                       'securing network',
                                       'determining attack origin'],
              'third_party_assistance': ["Louisiana Governor's Office of "
                                         'Homeland Security',
                                         'Louisiana State Police Cybercrimes '
                                         'Unit',
                                         'New Orleans Office of Homeland '
                                         'Security',
                                         "City Hall's IT department"]},
 'stakeholder_advisories': ['public statement by Sheriff Hutson'],
 'title': "Ransomware Attack on Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office (OPSO)",
 'type': 'ransomware'}