What to know
- The hackers who paralyzed the 911 Dispatch Center and Suffolk County Police Headquarters in a cyberattack earlier this month are back.
- Los hacker Nearly two dozen other documents have been uploaded to the dark web along with a new provocation directed at county executive Steve Bellone.
- Los hacker they have been posting information on the dark web since the September 8 attack and have threatened to post more, as they have recently, until the county pays.
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NEW YORK – Hackers who paralyzed the 911 Dispatch Center and Suffolk County Police Headquarters in a cyberattack earlier this month are again involved, uploading nearly two dozen other documents to the dark web together. to a new provocation against county executive Steve Bellone.
Los hacker they have been posting information on the dark web since the September 8 attack and have threatened to post more, as they have recently, until the county pays. The latest published papers cover a variety of critical topics, from budgets to ethics committees, audits, arbitration, civil service issues and collective bargaining agreements.
However, the last post doesn’t say exactly what they want and they haven’t asked for a specific ransom. Instead, they seek “a small reward for our work in researching vulnerabilities in the Suffolk County computer network.”
In a “further appeal to Mr. Steven Bellone”, they urge him to make an imminent decision or risk losing the public’s trust.
“Delaying a decision in this situation can have irreversible consequences for you,” said the provocation. “It would be sad if you misjudged the situation and lose your position. We certainly don’t want that to happen. We strongly encourage you to contact us within the next 24 hours.”
They promised “friendly negotiations” and said they could restore Suffolk’s IT operations within 48 hours. They also promised to destroy data posted on the dark web. It is unclear what the county intends to do next.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said the county was looking to restore the emergency health services call system by Friday, but it’s Friday and it’s unclear if that’s still a viable goal.
the hack, which is now over two weeks old, brought down the county government’s computers, leaving the 911 dispatch center shaky and reduced to pen and paper. The NYPD stepped in and added five call operators per route to handle the volume, but the problems continue.
Cops cannot use the car’s computers to perform background checks. They had to use an encrypted radio to contact the state police or highway patrol for more information.
Property closures have also been hit, with stock searches an essential part of those deals, even frozen by hackers. Buyers have been advised to proceed with caution.
Suffolk County officials say they have prepared for such an intrusion in the past, and by taking the network offline once the attack was detected, they may have prevented further damage. They believe more attacks like these can be expected.
How come? As the experts say, that’s where the money is.
Meanwhile, Suffolk County created a temporary government website and lobbied residents for information on how each agency is responding.
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