Ransoming Government: What state and local government can do to break free from ransomware attacks

What do New Orleans, Mississippi City, Baltimore, Lake City, and now Knoxville all have in common? Their local state and local governments (SLG) fell victim to a #ransomware attack over the past year and, while some chose to pay and others held out, one thing rings true for each – their cyber posture wasn’t up to snuff. In fact, ransomware attacks increased by 150% between 2018 and 2019, with more than $1.8 million in ransoms and even more spent on recovery costs. Despite seeing one city after another fall victim to cyber criminals and knowing SLG pay nearly 10 times what is demanded of commercial entities, they aren’t taking steps to proactively ward off threats.

In a recent report, “Ransoming Government: What state and local government can do to break free from ransomware attacks,” Deloitte provides insights on why governments are more vulnerable than commercial organizations and provides guidance on how they can reduce risk and better deal with ransomware.