Aging tech and valuable data create lucrative opportunities for hackers, and severe problems for residents
Lisa Black, chief deputy county executive for Suffolk County, N.Y., received a call in early September that government leaders and company executives dread: A suspected attack of tech systems was under way.
Immediately after the midday call on Sept. 8, county workers began to isolate financial databases and disconnect the network from the internet to prevent the spread of what would later be discovered as ransomware. That evening, Ms. Black gathered department heads and commissioners to announce a new challenge.
“I need you to pivot to, basically, 1990,” she told the assembled staff.
The Wall Street Journal
By James Rundle
Nov. 16, 2022