Ransomware, which hackers use to gain access to private data belonging to a company or government and threaten to release it unless a ransom is paid, is an increasingly common digital crime.
Such attacks gained national attention in May, when Colonial Pipeline's data was held for ransom and the company shuttered operations, causing gas prices to rise on the East Coast. Colonial paid those hackers approximately $5 million in ransom, some of which has been recovered by federal investigators.
Locally, separate ransomware attacks have hit the governments of Alton, Berkeley and St. Clair County so far this year. Each government website was shut down for days as cybersecurity experts attempted to secure them. It is unclear if any of the local governments paid a ransom. School districts are also common targets — an attack forced the closure of Affton School District in February.
Madison County will enter into contracts for multifactor authentication software and cybersecurity monitoring software.
The multifactor authentication, a service from Cisco Duo, forces users to confirm logins to websites using a second confirmation like a text or phone call. Arctic Wolf software will monitor the county's web systems for cybersecurity threats so they can respond quickly before harm is done.
Madison County will pay for the cybersecurity services using federal funding it received through the American Rescue Plan Act. It's the first time the county has tapped its $51 million in relief funding. Cybersecurity was already a priority when federal funding became available, board Chairman Kurt Prenzler said.
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