Town, police restore nearly all systems after cyber attack
Southold Town has restored nearly all its computer systems more than two weeks after a cyber attack knocked out email, forced police to write reports by hand and delayed the sale of beach permits, officials said Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Supervisor Al Krupski said the town isn’t quite at 100%, but all boards and the courts are running normally. Email is also back up, he added.
“In a week, we had some semblance of function and now, two weeks out, a real sense of function and order,” Mr. Krupski said.
Southold Police systems are close to full strength, allowing the department to once again process arrests at its headquarters, according to Southold Town Police Chief Steve Grattan.
Officers had to pen reports and tickets by hand while the car-based systems were down. They also had to call dispatchers to run driver’s license information.
The department is “back online with our track system, which is for motor vehicle accidents. Those can now be done on the computer instead of on paper,” Chief Grattan said.
The attack also delayed the town’s ability to issue beach and disposal permits. They were supposed to go on sale Monday, Dec. 8, but will now go on sale Monday, Dec. 15, Town Clerk Denis Noncarrow confirmed.
“All the departments in town really stepped up and worked either with IT or within their departments, and it was amazing,” Mr. Krupski said. “They all kept the wheels turning so that we could still serve the public.”
Mr. Krupski said that the town will review the breach and its response to better prepare for any future attacks.
A ransom note was also discovered the morning of the Nov. 24 attack, but was not opened by the town’s IT department. Mr. Krupski promised to release a statement about the note in the coming days.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security and county officials are investigating the note and the source of the attack. No security concerns tied to the “cyber incident” have been identified, Mr. Krupski said.
The breach was first detected around 6 a.m. ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The town’s IT department worked through the break to try and find a fix. Town computers were unplugged and scanned for any viruses under the direction of the IT department. The county and the state sent equipment to Southold during the outage, supplying laptops and printers.
With email down during the attack, residents needing town services had to call or visit in person.
