COBB COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – In March,
when Cobb County systems were down, it was because of a cyber attack, county officials said Friday.
“They want money, plain and simple,” said Rick Hudson, chief technology officer of Critical Path Security.
Hudson has been in cybersecurity for decades.
“We utilize a system of web crawlers to search for our clients’ names and gather information from our area as well as all the neighboring counties,” explained Hudson.
He stated that the Russian-speaking hacking collective “Qilin” was behind the breach in March. According to him, they have begun disseminating the data acquired and are warning of an imminent leak, set to occur within 48 hours.
“The Qilin group uploaded 16 sample images to a dark website, which included everything from autopsy photographs to pictures of driver’s licenses and Social Security cards,” according to Hudson.
Hudson mentioned that they have 400,000 documents prepared for release onto the dark web, but this will only happen if Cobb County does not pay the demanded ransom.
The official position of the federal government and everyone else is that they don’t negotiate with terrorists or threat actors; they refuse to make payments,” explained Jared Haviland, an information security officer at Critical Path Security. “However, realistically speaking, if there’s no other means to recover your data, what options are left?
A Cobb County representative stated that they have taken notice of the recent social media coverage regarding the assault on their network.
“At present, we have not validated the veracity of these allegations, nor will we comment on data purportedly discovered in less-known corners of the web,” stated a representative for Cobb County. “The Cobb County Government—as well as everyone under our service—fell prey to a cyber-incident. Once the breach was detected, we promptly adhered to predefined procedures, isolated our networks, and swiftly resumed functions. An external entity demanded a ransom, but we rejected it outright. We steadfastly decline to fund or encourage illegal activities, despite the challenging circumstances involved. Although this might provide scant reassurance to those impacted, holding strong conveys an unambiguous stance: criminals won’t benefit financially from their wrongdoing.”
The county representative mentioned that the inquiry is still underway.
If we find out that particular personal data might be compromised, Cobb County will offer affected individuals credit monitoring and identity theft protection,” stated the spokesperson. “Additionally, we encourage everyone to stay alert. Keep a close eye on your financial records and promptly inform your banking institution of any unusual activities. At present, there’s no indication that anyone has been adversely impacted by this situation.
“We want to assure the community that Cobb County’s network is secure, and it continues to be safe for you to conduct your transactions with us. It’s important to remember that this situation is still under active law enforcement investigation, so some of our responses might be limited as certain queries cannot be addressed just yet.”
Hudson stated, “No one would wish for their final recollections of their loved ones to be shared online in such a manner.”