Multiple cities in the United States have fallen victim to ransomware attacks on their government agencies, leading to service interruptions and facility closures.
Recently, the cities of Traverse City in Michigan and Newburgh in New York were simultaneously targeted in large-scale ransomware attacks. Local government agencies in these cities have notified residents that they are temporarily unable to process tax payments, water bills, permits, and other related services.
Traverse City, located in the northern part of Michigan and home to approximately 30,000 residents, is the most populous city in the region. The officials in Traverse City reported that on Wednesday morning, abnormal activities were detected within the internal network systems of Grand Traverse County, home to around 100,000 residents. Following internal discussions, the decision was made to shut down all county and city networks.
Grand Traverse County is responsible for managing the IT networks of both the county and Traverse City. Liz Vogel, a representative from Traverse City, emphasized the priority of protecting residents’ data and ensuring the continuity of essential city services. The FBI and Michigan State Police are currently involved in the efforts to restore the networks, although it is expected that the networks will remain offline for the foreseeable future.
Notably, emergency services such as 911, police, and fire departments in Traverse City remain unaffected by the ransomware attack. Online payment systems hosted on third-party platforms were also not compromised. Government officials are urging residents to utilize online portals for bill payments and taxes to minimize disruptions.
Nate Alger, the county administrator of Grand Traverse County, stated that swift actions were taken by the IT department upon detecting signs of the ransomware attack to isolate the incident and shut down the networks. Collaboration with partners will continue to gather more information on the impact and minimize public disturbances.
Newburgh, located about an hour north of New York City with a population of 30,000, announced this week that it also fell victim to a cyberattack, forcing the city government to temporarily shut down. The attack occurred on Monday, rendering the Newburgh government incapable of processing property taxes, water fees, sewage fees, sanitation fees, permit fees, or parking fines.
Despite the ransomware attack, it was confirmed that emergency services in Newburgh remained operational and unaffected. The city government has enlisted external IT experts and professionals to work tirelessly towards full operational recovery.
Coinciding with the incidents in Traverse City and Newburgh, one of the largest cities in the Midwest, Cleveland, faced a similar ransomware attack. A spokesperson from Cleveland City Hall informed Recorded Future News via email that the city hall would remain closed for several days. In 2023, major cities like Oakland and Dallas also experienced significant ransomware attacks. In 2024, cities including Wichita, Birmingham, Pensacola, and Jacksonville Beach were also targeted by ransomware attacks.
Emsisoft threat analyst Brett Callow has been tracking and analyzing ransomware attacks targeting US government agencies. So far in 2024, there have been 50 reported ransomware attacks (excluding the Newburgh incident). In 2023, local governments in the US collectively experienced 95 confirmed ransomware attacks.
For further details and information, please refer to the source article: [The Record](https://therecord.media/traverse-city-michigan-newburgh-new-york-ransomware).