Day 3 Of Ransomware Cyber Attack On Southold Servers: Supervisor Gives Update

SOUTHOLD, NY — On the third day of a potential cyber attack on Southold Town's servers, Supervisor Al Krupski shared an update.

Both Southold Town police and town officials sent out information Monday about the potential ransomware incident.

"Both 911 and administrative phone systems are functioning normally and are not affected by this incident," police said. "Email systems are currently offline, and the processing of records requests will be limited until systems are fully restored. Residents and visitors can be assured that the Southold Town Police Department remains fully prepared to respond to all emergencies and calls for service."

Town officials added that an investigation is ongoing; the cyber attack on town servers "affects our ability to to communicate with residents via email."

Speaking with Patch Wednesday, Krupski said the town "reached out for help to everyone. We’re starting to line that help up."

Krupski confirmed that a demand, a "ransom note", to the town "hasn't been opened up yet."

He added: "In an abundance of caution, the focus has been on trying to preserve whatever integrity we have to our system right now."

The Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management headed out to Southold Tuesday "to help us get organized on protocol," Krupski said. Two department head meetings have already been held, he added. "I think we're doing well. We've reached out to the appropriate people and the help is starting to come in."

The focus, he said, is to restore daily operations; the town's IT department has made "great strides. Department heads have been innovative."

Looking ahead, Krupski said there will "be disruptions in some areas. We'll know more next week when we dig into our systems and see how this has affected them. We don't know the damage yet. We are going to start with public safety."

As it stands, no emails can be sent or received in town offices or at the police department but 911 is still operational, he said.

Krupski thanked the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office, Suffolk County Police, Riverhead Town Police and others for their help — he also thanked Southold Town Police who, he said, have done "a great job of coordinating, responding, and maintaining their operation."

He added: "It’s never a good time for this but we're encouraged by the response internally to keep our services active."