Cyberattack Prevention Update Planned In Patchogue

PATCHOGUE, NY — Patchogue officials have requested the village's Internet Technology update them on the protections in place to guard against cyber-intrusions in light of the recent ransomware attack on Suffolk County government.

Representatives from Sourcepass Inc. will make the update during a presentation at the Board of Trustees' Dec. 12 meeting at Village Hall.

"I know that they are doing everything that they can, in what we hope are adequate systems in place," said Village Clerk Lori Devlin. "But we wanted to make sure that the Board of Trustees, the mayor, and the public are equally informed so that we don't find ourselves in a sticky situation."

Sourcepass will explain what technicians are doing to prevent an attack, Devlin said, noting that the village's systems are backed up so if officials ever needed the service restored, it would be right at their fingertips.

The village already has a system in place where employees are educated on best practices to prevent phishing, "to make sure that all employees know what might be suspicious, and so far there haven't been any problems in Patchogue," Devlin said.

The meeting will start at 6 p.m.

Suffolk officials are continuing to navigate the Sept. 8 cyberattack that forced them to shut down the county's web-based applications such as email and several websites. The attack was later determined to be a ransomware attack, though officials have never indicated if a demand was made.

County officials announced last week that the driver's licenses, and other personal identification information like passports, of people who were issued tickets between 2013 and 2022 might have been exposed in the attack.

They are now offering free credit monitoring and restoration to people who are eligible.

Islip Town have announced that unusual activity was detected on the town's computer system, though officials do not believe anyone in the public is at risk. The town's computer network, including email, remains offline.

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