- The National Guard has been called to help the recovery of cyber attack
- An intrusion was detected in Minnesota systems in St Paul
- Networks have closed to isolate and protect systems
After the suspicious activity detected in the capital networks of the capital, St Paul, the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, has activated the State National Guard to help defend against the attackers.
The attack led local officials to close information systems in ST Paul as a defensive measure, including access to the network for a variety of internal applications, to contain the threat. Mayor Melvin Carter assured the services of 911 residents who operated us, but shared that the city has experienced some “background” challenges;
“We recognize that these interruptions have created inconveniences for residents and city staff equally. While these interruptions are difficult, they are necessary steps to limit exposure, preserve the integrity of the system and protect confidential information as our research and recovery efforts continue,” Carter continued.
A deliberate effort
The city has been working with Minnesota’s information technology services, as well as an external cybersecurity provider, but still the “scale and complexity” of the attack has exceeded “internal and commercial response capacities,” explained former Vice President Vice President Walz.
It is not yet clear if it was a ransomware attack, but a variety of networks and services have been closed intentionally and proactively to ‘isolate and ensure’ Minnesota systems.
These are ‘steps necessary to limit the exposure, preserve the integrity of the system and protect the confidential information’ argues Carter, who reveals that the violation was intentionally caused by an ‘criminal external threat actor’.
“This was not a system or technical error. This was a deliberate and coordinated digital attack carried out by a sophisticated intentional and criminally directed external actor aimed at the information infrastructure of our city,” Carter explained.
Critical infrastructure is a main objective for cybercriminals, who take advantage of the importance of the services they provide and the confidential data they have to request higher bailouts.
The United States government recently warned of Medusa Ransomware has reached hundreds of critical infrastructure objectives in similar incidents, although no threat actor has assumed the responsibility of this attack.
Through; The record
