Hacking Attack Continues for 3rd Day, Manager Seeks Fix

FILE PHOTO Key Biscayne Village Hall, June 19, 2019 (Key News/Tony Winton)

UPDATE – Thursday, June 27

The Village Council unanimously authorized officials to recover from a computer hacking attack at a special meeting Thursday morning, as staff worked to put more systems back online. Manager Andrea Agha said most systems were back as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, but it’s not clear if the Village has access to all records.

Some offices were still dealing with communications the old fashioned way –on paper — Thursday. The Clerk’s office posted handwritten notices on bulletin boards and was not able to print an agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

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Computer systems at government offices in the Village of Key Biscayne remained impaired Wednesday as the result of a hacking attack, as the Village manager sought emergency spending authority to restore normal operations.  The Village Council will convene Thursday morning to consider her request even as a criminal investigation into the attack continues.

The draft resolution says the manager may spend any amount needed to “return IT systems to fully functional status,” as long as the amounts are covered by insurance. The resolution will allow Manager Andrea Agha to hire firms that specialize in computer security and data recovery. 

Agha said most Village functions are intact, but that in an abundance of caution, some tasks are being done with paper instead of computer systems, such as applications for permits.

 She said, however, that some records are not accessible. 

When asked if the Village was being hit with a “ransomware” attack, in which hackers encrypt a database and demand payment to unlock it, Agha said: “that’s a great question, and it’s why we retained these experts.”

Agha said the Village would consult with experts about any private resident or employee information stored on computer systems. 

Police Chief Charles Press said that only police email accounts were down Wednesday. He declined to speak further, citing the pending investigation. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it had received a request to assist the Village, said Gretl Plessinger, a department spokeswoman. The FBI did not return calls for comment. 

Ransomware attacks are increasing against governments and institutions, said Jason Rebholz, a principal for the technology advisory firm Moxfive. 

“This is the latest trend because there are such low barriers to entry,” he said. Rebholz said Key Biscayne’s cyber insurer, AXA XL, is one of the larger firms in the field and would have a team of experts on hand to assess whatever data intrusion took place. 

News outlets recently reported that the City of Riviera Beach, Florida, agreed to pay nearly $600,000 to hackers who’d struck municipal computers. 

Rebholz, the computer expert, said it was important that Key Biscayne be very thorough in examining all aspects of its data systems, because one attack may or may not be related to other vulnerabilities. 

“They really have to dig deep,” he said.