Cyberattack raises a number of concerns
The article “Price to pay” detailing the January cyberattack on Washington County appeared in the Friday edition of the Observer-Reporter. It raises a number of concerns.
For example, “. . . with the understanding that no private information would be shared on the dark web.” Why would anyone trust an “understanding” made with anyone from Russia, let alone criminals? How will the county solicitor know whether or not private information is posted on the dark web?
It gets worse. One of the commissioners is ” . . . confident that hackers will ‘go away’ now that the ransom has been paid.” How naive. Does the commissioner believe the county would not be targeted again by others from Russia, North Korea or China? Once successful, why wouldn’t the same hacker make another attempt in the future?
Finally, ” . . . and they are taking various steps to better protect the county’s computer network.” The protection must include periodic unannounced random stress tests with the results including corrective actions implemented by qualified professional information technology security personnel.
Douglas Mahrer
McMurray