Nabers for ICMA: Ransomware Attacks Illustrate the Vulnerabilities that Local Government Entities Face

The media has focused on cyberattacks related to election systems lately.  Many individuals, public officials, and company executives, however, have been just as worried about ransomware attacks.

Ransomware attacks infect computer networks with a virus that totally shuts down a computer or a network.  It prevents access and demands payment to release and restore data on the machine or network. Recent examples of ransomware attacks illustrate the vulnerabilities that government entities face. The ransom costs are exorbitant while the risk of either a loss of data or a service outage is terrifying.