The FBI warned March 30 of ransomware attacks on local government agencies, which have resulted in disrupted operational services, risks to public safety and financial loss.
According to the report, ransomware incidents against local governments resulted in disruptions to public and health services, emergency and safety operations and the compromise of personal data.
The FBI is urging the local government agencies to take the following steps:
- Do not pay ransoms.
- Keep all operating systems and software up to date.
- Implement a user training program and phishing exercises.
- Require strong, unique passwords for all accounts with password logins.
- Encrypt all backup data.
- Keep a copy of backup data offline.
- Investigate all abnormal activity.
The Secret Service, FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have released five warnings of cyberthreats connected to the healthcare industry, urging the sector to harden its security defenses as cybersecurity threats increase in light of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.