City workers in Atlanta are turning their computers back on for the first time in nearly a week.
That’s after a cyberattack on the government’s computer systems brought much of the city’s online services to a halt Thursday.
Since then, Atlanta’s water department hasn’t been able to process bill payments and the municipal court had to reschedule all of its cases. City permitting has also faced issues.
The city cautioned that even now the ransomware attack may still be affecting some employees’ computers. The mayor’s office didn’t eliminate the possibility of paying the $51,000 hackers demanded as ransom.
Georgia State University researcher Don Hunt, who specializes in cybercrime, said the fact that computers are coming on is likely a good sign. But he added that full recovery could take a while.
“The city of Atlanta will have a long road ahead of it to get everything back up to par as far as their computer systems or software systems, untangling the mess that happened,” he said.
Hunt also said the city will have to learn more about how the attack happened and if anyone’s personal information was compromised.
Then, if law enforcement catches those responsible, he expects prosecutors to pursue the case against the hackers as far as it can be taken in the criminal justice system. With that in mind, the city could be dealing with the fallout of the attack for months or years.
Atlanta may be one of the largest cities to experience a ransomware attack of this kind, according to Hunt. Typically, he said, hackers target private companies, which then quietly pay the ransoms.
“The good news is normally when you see something like this happen, within a few months, you become the safest place in the world,” Hunt said.
Following the attack, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said cybersecurity has become a top priority for her administration.
