[BreachExchange] Muscatine government cyber attack recovery ‘a slow process’

[Destry Winant]

https://wqad.com/2018/11/02/muscatine-government-cyber-attack-recovery-a-slow-process/

MUSCATINE, Iowa -- It's been two weeks since Muscatine government
servers were attacked with ransomware, but there is still a long road
ahead.

Several City of Muscatine servers were disabled by the attack on Oct.
17, which knocked out several important online services according to a
press release from the city. The public was unable to pay for parking
tickets, apply for permits or check out books at the public library.

It's only been two weeks since the attack, and restoration efforts are
underway, the release states. Officials believe the ransomware has
been removed. Progress has been made on restoring the systems,
although the public still cannot pay for parking tickets. Officials
say several systems will remain down for the foreseeable future.

The industry average for fully restoring a system is 10 weeks,
according to the release.

“Our IT staff has been working very hard to resolve the situation and
restore the system," City Administrator Gregg Mandsager said. "We ask
the public to continue to be patient."

Ransomware is a type of malware that denies access to a server or
website until a ransom is paid, according to the United States
Computer Emergency Readiness Team. It is spread by opening phishing
emails or visiting infected websites.

Officials did not pay the money requested by the ransomware

The city is reviewing and implementing additional security measures
over and above those systems already in place, according to the
release.

An investigation is still ongoing.