{"id":384413,"date":"2021-12-22T00:06:34","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T21:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/virginia-still-working-to-fix-issues-after-ransomware-attack\/"},"modified":"2021-12-22T00:06:34","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T21:06:34","slug":"virginia-still-working-to-fix-issues-after-ransomware-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/virginia-still-working-to-fix-issues-after-ransomware-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"#Virginia still working to fix issues after ransomware attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Virginia still working to fix issues after ransomware attack<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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The information technology<\/a> agency that serves Virginia’s legislature is still working to fix problems caused by a ransomware attack earlier this month, a state official said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The attack substantially affected operations and occurred during preparations for a legislative session that is set to start Jan. 12.<\/p>\n

Dave Burhop, executive director of Virginia’s Division of Legislative Automated Systems, told The Associated Press in an email that the agency’s “goal is to have the General<\/a> Assembly session operational to the greatest extent possible.”<\/p>\n

“Our technical, investigative and administrative teams have been working tirelessly,” Burhop wrote.<\/p>\n

Burhop said a full forensic analysis generally takes several weeks. And he said he hopes the initial analysis will be finished just after the New Year.<\/p>\n

“As of today, these teams continue to perform a meticulous, around-the-clock forensic analysis of our systems, servers and all connection points,” Burhop wrote Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Division of Legislative Automated Systems, or DLAS, is the General Assembly’s IT agency. The attack marks the latest in a ransomware scourge that has exploded over the past year, with attacks against governments, critical infrastructure and major corporations.<\/p>\n

Cybersecurity researchers who track ransomware said earlier this month there was no previous record of a state legislature suffering an attack.<\/p>\n

A top agency official told Virginia legislative leaders in an email obtained by The Associated Press last week that hackers using “extremely sophisticated malware” had accessed the system Dec. 10. A ransom note with no specific amount or date was sent, according to the email.<\/p>\n

All of the agency’s internal servers, including those for bill drafting, the budget system and the General Assembly voicemail system, were affected, the email said.<\/p>\n

“Anything to do with bill drafting or bill referrals\u2014all of that has been impacted,” Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar said earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Brett Callow, a threat analyst at the firm Emsisoft, said Virginia is the 74th state or local government hit by ransomware attacks this year, though the first legislature he’s ever seen attacked.<\/p>\n

“Honestly, I’m surprised it hasn’t happ<\/a>ened before,” Callow said.\n <\/p>\n\n

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Officials: Virginia IT agency hit with ransomware attack\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Virginia still working to fix issues after ransomware attack (2021, December 21)
\n retrieved 22 December 2021
\n from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news<\/a>\/2021-12-virginia-issues-ransomware.html<\/p>\n

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