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Allentown computer virus fix to cost extra $220, 000
From: Destry Winant <destry () riskbasedsecurity com>
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2018 23:24:00 -0500
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-nws-allentown-cyber-attack-cost-20180731-story.html Costs continue to rise for Allentown as it grapples with a cyberattack that crippled some of the city’s most vital systems earlier this year. An extra $220,000 will be needed to pay for virus remediation, according to an ordinance to be considered by Allentown City Council on Wednesday. That comes on top of the nearly $1 million that the city has already spent to rebuild systems following the attack. According to city documents, the additional money is needed to change Allentown’s licensing model with Microsoft to “ensure a secure environment for the future.” Allentown is in the final year of its licensing agreement with Microsoft. Allentown was struck by a malware virus known as Emotet in mid-February, an attack that threatened all city systems that run on Microsoft, including the city’s 185-camera surveillance network. Representatives from Microsoft were immediately hired for an initial $185,000 emergency response fee to contain the virus, which was stealing credential information from city employees such as passwords. In April, a $961,140 bill was submitted to council, which included the initial $185,000 fee. City officials said at the time there was no evidence to suggest any personal information of residents had been compromised. Paying for the fix required Allentown to tap its cash reserves, which had already been reduced to balance the city’s 2017 and 2018 budgets. Money was also drawn from other areas of the city budget such as the solid waste fund and the streets department, requiring the city to put off improvements to the recycling drop-off center and to postpone hiring employees. City administrators have recommended drawing the extra $220,000 from a line-item dedicated to contracts in the city IT budget. Allentown officials previously discussed the cyberattack publicly over vehement objections from the city’s IT director. This time, City Council met in a private executive session to discuss the issue, according to its agenda for Wednesday. Mayor Ray O’Connell and Managing Director Joe McMahon were present, as were members of the IT staff and a consultant. “Matters of cybersecurity are confidential under both the federal Homeland Security Laws and the Pennsylvania state Confidential Security Information Protection Law,” council’s agenda states. “This subject matter is not subject to the open meeting requirements under the Sunshine Law.” O’Connell could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. Allentown City Council will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. in City Council chambers, 435 Hamilton St. _______________________________________________ BreachExchange mailing list sponsored by Risk Based Security BreachExchange () lists riskbasedsecurity com If you wish to Edit your membership or Unsubscribe you can do so at the following link: https://lists.riskbasedsecurity.com/listinfo/breachexchange
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- Allentown computer virus fix to cost extra $220, 000 Destry Winant (Aug 03)