HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.25.21 Yuba County Ransomware Attack
From:Cabal, Dino
To:Dept Heads;Asst Dept Heads;Alpert, Bruce;Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;
Cook, Robin;Kimmelshue, Tod;Lucero, Debra;Paulsen, Shaina;Pickett, Andy;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami;Rodas,
Amalia;Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug
Cc:Pickett, Andy
Subject:Yuba County Ransomware Attack
Date:Thursday, February 25, 2021 8:50:45 AM
Good Morning Everyone,
With the Yuba County ransomware attack fresh in our minds, I am including email content below
from my Assistant Director, sent prior to my arrival at Butte County. It speaks to disaster readiness
on the part of Information Systems, and also outlines how we can work together to prevent this type
of event.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me directly.
Thank you,
Dino Cabal, MSITM, ITIL
Director of Information Systems
County of Butte
308 Nelson Avenue
Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.3200 |
dcabal@buttecounty.net
Greetings Everyone,
As some of you are already aware, Yuba County experienced a ransomware attack three weeks ago.
Much is still unknown to us about this particular attack. We do know that a number of their systems
were encrypted and most county services were interrupted. Once the situation is resolved we will
likely hear great detail about this incident from our counter parts in Yuba through our statewide IT
association.
Just how safe are we from a similar attack? Below is an excerpt from an email I sent several months
ago. It is as relevant today as it was then.
What we are doing
We have been monitoring our network and have no known infections at this time. We will continue
to monitor the situation and keep you informed of any new developments.
We utilize cloud-based malware detection, email hygiene, and firewalls that quickly learn of new
threats and act swiftly to mitigate spread once a threat is identified. In most instances, threats are
eliminated before they reach your inbox.
While we employ very powerful technology designed to keep our organization safe from malware, no
system is 100% effective. We need your help, too!
What you can do to help
For the past 2 years, we have been sending fake phishing campaigns to help test and educate County
employees. The good news is that fewer and fewer employees believe phishing emails when they
receive them. The bad news is that some are still tricked into clicking on phishing links. It only takes
one accidental click to potentially infect our network.
Please take this threat of malware seriously.
Be on your guard about odd or suspicious emails that you receive.
Do not click on any links when you do not recognize the sender.
If you have received a suspicious email or accidentally clicked a link that seems suspicious
please contact our helpdesk at helpdesk@buttecounty.net or 530.552.3222.
There is something else you can do. Through this event we have learned that Yuba County not only
lost outward facing services but they also lost internal services including the ability to communicate
with coworkers. This is something that our County can relate to even though the cause of our
communication outage was not related to ransomware. When fires consumed our fiber connections
we found it necessary to call and text one another with cell phones. Some had essential contacts in
their phones while others did not. I would encourage you to have your staff ensure their contact lists
are up-to-date.
Thank you for your time.
Josh Kincheloe
Assistant Director
Butte County Department of Information Systems
308 Nelson Avenue, Oroville, CA, 95965
T: 530.552.3287