Cyberattacks on Texas cities raises many Questions

Cyberattacks that recently crippled nearly two dozen Texas cities,USA have put other local governments on guard, offering the latest evidence that hackers can halt routine operations by locking up computers and public records and demanding steep ransoms. A expert says, while we love our smartphones, they are vulnerable to hackers.

As many countries are moving towards digitisation, the result what we are seeing are just back to square one with heavy losses , where under Government agencies that fail to keep reliable backups of their data could be forced to choose between paying ransoms or spending even more to rebuild lost systems. Officials are increasingly turning to cybersecurity insurance to help curb the growing threat. The Ccoordinated ransomware attacks hit 23 Government agencies in Texas. The attacks, which have been happening for years, can set governments back decades. Libraries can’t use electronic checkout systems. Police can’t access electronic records, and utility bills must be paid with paper checks rather than online.

Protection is expensive, particularly for smaller cities whose employees may not be trained on the latest ransomware, which often spreads through emails containing malicious links or attachments. Hackers can also entice users to visit a compromised website and then encrypt files stored on a computer or network until a payment is made. In Keene, a community of about 6,000 people about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southwest of Dallas, problems began Friday when computers used by its roughly 50 employees locked up and prevented any credit card payments, officials said. Three other cities identified themselves as victims. A spokeswoman for the city of Borger declined to comment on security efforts or costs, and messages for officials in Wilmer and Kaufman were not returned.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are working with the affected cities but declined to release the names of all 22 governments or provide any detail about how the hackers gained access to their systems.

Cities of all sizes have been targeted in recent years, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Newark, New Jersey and Savannah, Georgia. According to the FBI, more than 1,400 ransomware attacks were reported last year, and victims reported paying $3.6 million to hackers.The cyber attacks and threats have grown in recent times, and the threat actors are gradually moving towards targeting government departments and agencies to affect critical operations.

Lastly, it seems that all going digital is becomes a trend and expected to continue like it , may be faced with heavy losses for certain countries and states and at the same time, hackers are gaining the revenue. A question arises, why are we going everything digital?