Suffolk Cyberattack Has Cost The County Coffers $5.2M In Probe And Restoration: Report

HAUPPAUGE, NY — Suffolk officials have spent $5.2 million probing what happened in the September cyberattack and getting county offices back on track, a spokeswoman told News 12.

The funds have been allocated to find out what exactly took place during the ransomware breach on Sept. 8 and then restore services across the county's various departments, the outlet reported.

Suffolk officials are continuing to probe the attack, which forced them to shut down the county's web-based applications such as email and several websites. Officials have never indicated if a demand was made by the hackers.

County officials announced Thanksgiving 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.

Then on Thursday, it was revealed that officials estimate 26,000 current and retired employees' social security numbers might have been exposed during the cyberattack three months ago, News 12 first reported.

The people whose personal information might have been exposed include those who were enrolled in the county's medical plan since 2013, and they will be getting letters notifying them, the outlet reported.

Islip Town have announced last week that unusual activity had been detected on the town's computer system, though officials do not believe anyone in the public is at risk. The town's computer network was back online Friday after a week off-line, Newsday reported.

In light of the recent news, Patchogue Village officials have requested an update on their own cyber-security from the government's Internet Technology consultants.

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