ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – After a second cyberattack on its network, Winona County is getting a hand from troops.
The county is identified Tuesday’s incident as a ransomware attack, a type of malware designed to hold sensitive data or devices.
Winona County’s emergency management director, Ben Klinger, commended the work of its information technology staff and outside security experts for their speed and precision in identifying and defending against the attack.
Klinger detailed in a press conference on Friday staff took part of the county’s network offline “out of an abundance of caution.” Klinger said the county is working to restore its system in phases, verifying each systems’ security before putting it back online, but it won’t wait for every issue to be fixed before then.
“The [cyberattacks] are complex and evolving events,” Klinger said, “The people working on this, from our local staff to state and federal partners are committed to seeing this through. They are not going to stop until we have answers and our systems are fully restored.”
Klinger did not comment on the origins or extent of the cyberattack, citing the integrity of the investigation, but said the attack is separate from the January incident.
As of Friday’s press conference, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), vital statistics and the county’s main network are still down. Klinger advised residents in need of DMV-related services to seek assistance from neighboring counties.
Following the incident, the Minnesota National Guard and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) became involved in the investigation. The guard’s cyber coordination cell director, Lt. Col. Brian Morgan, explained how cyberattacks on local governments are on the rise “due to the fact that these threat actors are typically financially motivated.”
Morgan said hackers will “try and gain access to the network and then ransom the availability of the network” to prevent users from accessing it. Once that is done, hackers work to extract data.
“If they’re able to do that,” Morgan said, “Then they’ll try and extort that data and ask for money not to release that data to the world.”
Other entities impacted by cybersecurity attacks include state governments, schools and hospitals.
Klinger said the county is working to strengthen its network to prevent another attack.
“That’s another aspect of the National Guard here,” Klinger said, “[They’re] helping us find vulnerabilities and we’re hardening everything with the network.”
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