Priya Patel
TLDR:
Key Points:
- Cleveland city hall operations have been shut down due to a cyberattack, making it the largest U.S. city to be impacted.
- No details about the systems affected or the type of attack were provided, but it did not impact local port and utility management systems.
Article Summary:
Operations at Cleveland’s city hall have been disrupted by a cyberattack, making it the largest U.S. city to be affected by such an incident. The attack led to the shutdown of numerous systems, although specific details about the affected systems and the type of attack were not disclosed. A city spokesperson reassured that the local port and utility management systems were not impacted by the cyber incident.
This development comes in the wake of other cyber incidents affecting city governments across the U.S., such as the ransomware attack on the City of Pensacola in Florida and the disruption of online payments for services in Wichita, Texas. These incidents highlight the increasing threat of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and government organizations.
In response to the growing cybersecurity risks, Microsoft and Google have pledged to provide free and low-cost cybersecurity services to rural hospitals in the U.S. as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to enhance healthcare cybersecurity. Additionally, a recent report has identified network infrastructure devices as the most vulnerable to cyberattacks, surpassing endpoints in terms of risk due to the rise in vulnerabilities and successful exploits against such devices.
Furthermore, a town in Massachusetts fell victim to a business email compromise attack, resulting in a loss of over $445,000. This incident underscores the financial impact of cybercrime on local government entities and the importance of implementing robust cybersecurity measures to prevent such attacks.
