Suffolk Officials Warned Of Possible Cyberattack Months Ago: Report

HAUPPAUGE, NY — Suffolk officials were warned about an impending ransomware attack about three months before the cyberattack all but crippled the county’s operations was identified in September, Newsday reported.

A court officer in contact with an FBI agent tipped off District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office back in June, indicating an event was “taking place in the county” and the tip was sent to Brian Bartholomew, an information technology coordinator for the county, according to an email obtained by the outlet.

Bartholomew responded in an email chain that he was not aware of “any ransomware attack that is going on,” adding, “none of my equipment is lighting up,” and asked for more specific information and checked with staff members, according to Newsday.

The outlet reported that an email to Bartholomew bounced back as undeliverable and county spokesperson Nicole Russo declined to respond specifically to the June tip, instead writing, “There is still an ongoing forensic assessment to determine exactly when and how the threat actors accessed county systems. Our team of cybersecurity experts are working to piece together these details, while we continue with our safe and secure rolling restoration.”

To read more in Newsday, click here.

Suffolk’s web-based applications were attacked Sept. 8, forcing officials to take down some of its services, including web pages and email, while they undertook an investigation. The attack has since been deemed a ransomware attack.

A cybercriminal gang named “BlackCat” has alleged responsibility, according to posts on the dark web.

County officials have previously said that the hackers responsible for the cyberattack had either accessed or acquired residents’ personal information and they advised vigilant credit monitoring.
Civil service exams that were postponed earlier this month were rescheduled last week.

Officials resumed allowing title companies to perform searches last Monday, nearly a month after the county’s web-based applications were disrupted following a ransomware attack on Sept. 8.