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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2017
After cyberattack, much of county’s business done on paper
By TOM FOREMAN JR.
and JONATHAN DREW
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. —
North Carolina’s largest metro
area was discovering just how
hard it is to conduct business
without county computers that
handle numerous transactions
on Thursday, a day after local
leaders refused to pay hackers
who froze their system.
Mecklenburg County com-
puter systems that collect
property taxes, handle build-
ing permits and process jail
inmates were out of commis-
sion while technology work-
ers made digital repairs with
backed-up data. Officials say
the fixes will take days.
County officials were also
taking new precautions against
fraudulent emails because hack-
ers have launched a new attack
in response to their refusal to
pay ransom. No further damage
to the system was reported.
In the meantime, a variety
of transactions with county
government were being done
on paper.
Darryl Broome, a contractor
who does remodeling and dem-
olition work, went in person to
AP Photo/Tom Foreman Jr.
A sign warning the public of a computer outage is dis-
played at a Mecklenburg County county government of-
fice building Thursday in Charlotte, N.C.
a county office to retrieve land
information he normally could
look up on his home computer.
He had to drive 10 miles and
spent about a half-hour looking
through paper records.
“It’s a bit frustrating because
you learn that you really need
certain things online,” he said.
“You get used to doing cer-
tain things online, and when
you have to slow down, it costs
you time and time costs you
money.”
The county of more than
1 million residents includes
Charlotte, but the city gov-
ernment said its separate com-
puter system wasn’t affected
by the attack. Nor were the
computers that handle 911
calls and dispatch for the city
and county, said Charlotte
Fire Department Deputy Chief
Richard Granger.
Mecklenburg County man-
ager Dena Diorio told staff
in an email Thursday that the
county was disabling employ-
ees’ ability to open attachments
generated through Dropbox
and Google Docs because of
renewed attacks.
She said that because the
county refused to pay ransom
to unlock dozens of frozen
servers, “the cyber criminals
are redoubling their efforts
to penetrate the county’s
systems, primarily through
emails that contain fraudu-
lent attachments with viruses
that could further damage our
systems.”
Many county-run services
have been delayed. The sher-
iff has said it’s taking longer
to manually process arrestees,
as well as inmates due to be
released.
Meanwhile, payments to the
tax office must be made with
a check, cash or money order,
while code inspectors have
been slowed down by having to
use paper records, according to
a list of affected services.
Cyberattacks on local
government are becoming
increasingly common and
sophisticated. Security experts
say Mecklenburg County fol-
lowed the right steps before
and after the cyberattack,
including declining to pay the
ransom.
“Unfortunately, it’s become
all too common,” said Law-
rence Abrams, who runs the
cyber security site bleeping-
computer.com. “It’s smart not
to pay the ransom if you can
avoid it. In paying these ran-
soms, it’s obviously encourag-
ing others.”
Counties in Indiana and
Alabama are among those that
have paid to regain access to
data frozen by cyberattacks
since late last year. The Mont-
gomery Advertiser reported
that Montgomery County,
Alabama, faced disruptions
to some operations even after
paying hackers in September.
Other public organizations
have chosen to rebuild instead
of paying hackers. In Novem-
ber 2016, a ransomware attack
on San Francisco’s transit sys-
tem resulted in officials shut-
ting down ticketing machines,
allowing free rides for much
of a weekend. But transit offi-
cials didn’t pay a ransom. The
St. Louis library system said it
took days to restore electronic
services for patrons and weeks
more to fix all of its comput-
ers after it refused to pay hack-
Columbia Senior Diners —
11:30 a.m., 1111 Exchange St. The
cost is $6. For information, or to
have a meal delivered, call 503-325-
9693.
causes, effects and methods of
healing from trauma; emphasis
is on empowering survivors. For
information, contact Shannon Sy-
monds at 503-325-3426 ext. 106.
Warrenton Senior Lunch Pro-
gram — noon, Warrenton Commu-
nity Center, 170 S.W. Third St. Sug-
gested donation of $5 for seniors
and $7 for those younger than 60.
For information, or to volunteer, call
503-861-3502 Monday or Thursday.
Astoria-Warrenton Duplicate
Bridge Club — 12:30 to 4 p.m.,
Astoria Senior Center, 1111 Ex-
change St. Anyone may play if they
have a partner; to request a bridge
partner, call 503-325-0029.
ers behind a ransomware attack
this year.
Ross Rustici, senior director
of intelligence services at the
firm Cybereason, said Meck-
lenburg County appears to have
done a good job of backing up
its data if it’s able to restore
the system without paying the
hackers.
“It seems like the county
was fairly well-prepared,” he
said. “Overall, this is not as bad
of a story as it could have been.”
Mecklenburg
County
revealed Tuesday that it was
facing a computer outage after
an employee opened an email
attachment containing mali-
cious software. Hackers had
sought digital currency worth
more than $23,000 to unlock
the data.
A forensic examination
shows 48 of the county’s 500
servers were affected, Diorio
said, adding that county govern-
ment officials believe the hacker
wasn’t able to gain access to
individuals’ health, credit card
or Social Security informa-
tion. Without getting the com-
promised servers unlocked,
the county will have to rebuild
significant parts of the system
using the backup data.
COMMUNITY NOTES
Continued from Page 2B
Warrenton Kiwanis Club — 1
p.m., Dooger’s Seafood and Grill,
103 U.S. Highway 101, Warrenton.
For information, call Darlene Warren
at 503-861-2672.
Seaside Rebounders Stroke
Support Group — 1 to 2 p.m.,
Providence Seaside Hospital Ed-
ucation Center, 725 S Wahanna
Road, Seaside. Stroke survivors,
their caregivers and family mem-
bers welcome. For information, call
503-717-7781.
Sit & Stitch — 1 to 3 p.m.,
Homespun Quilts & Yarn, 108 10th
St. Bring knitting, crochet or other
needlework projects along to this
community stitching time. All skill
levels welcome.
Mahjong for Experienced
Players — 1:15 p.m., Astoria Senior
Center, 1111 Exchange St. For infor-
mation, call 503-325-3231.
Beginner Line Dancing for
Seniors — 1:30 to 3 p.m., Astoria
Senior Center, 1111 Exchange St.
For information, call 503-325-3231.
Seaport Masonic Lodge No. 7
— 6:30 p.m. dinner, 7:30 p.m. meet-
ing, 1572 Franklin Ave. All Masons
and their guests are welcome.
Warrenton Business Asso-
ciation — 5:30 p.m., commission
chambers, Warrenton City Hall, 225
S. Main Ave. For information, call
Kristin Talamantez at 503-861-9750.
Chair Exercises for Seniors
— 9 to 9:45 a.m., Astoria Senior
Center, 1111 Exchange St. For in-
formation, call 503-325-3231.
Fat Quarter Quilters — 5:30 to
8 p.m., Homespun Quilts, 108 10th
St. Not limited to quilts. For informa-
tion, call 503-325-3300 or 800-298-
3177 or go to http://homespunquilt.
com
LGBTIQ Group — 6 p.m., As-
toria Armory, 1636 Exchange St.
Group is designed to help connect
LGBTIQ people in Clatsop, Colum-
bia, Tillamook and Pacific counties
to discuss LGBTIQ issues freely
and confidentially. For questions,
contact Chris Wright at 425-314-
3388.
THURSDAY
Wickiup Senior Lunches —
11:30 a.m., Wickiup Grange Hall,
92683 Svensen Market Road. Free
for those older than 60 ($3 sug-
gested donation), $6.75 for those
younger than age 60. For informa-
tion, call Michelle Lewis at 503-861-
4200.
Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m.,
Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested do-
nation of $3 for those older than 60;
$6.75 for those younger than 60.
For information, call Michelle Lew-
is at 503-861-4200.
Seaside Rotary Club — noon,
Outlet Mall, 1111 N. Roosevelt Drive,
No. 206, Seaside. Lunch costs $15.
All are welcome. For information, go
to http://seasiderotary.com
Survivors Circle — noon to 1
p.m., The Harbor, 1361 Duane St.
Trauma Recovery and Empower-
ment Model Peer Support Group
for survivors of intimate partner
and sexual assault. Held in a safe
confidential place to explore the
Trivia — 6:30 p.m., Uptown
Cafe, 1639 S.E. Ensign Lane,
Warrenton. Teams of up to four
players. Three $2 games, winners
take each pot. Rolling jackpot
builds from week to week if no one
answers jackpot question. For in-
formation, call 503-861-5639.
Jam Session — 6:30 to 8:30
p.m., Astoria Senior Center, 1111
Exchange St. Open to the public.
For information, call 503-325-
3231.
FRIDAY
AAUW Walking Group —
9:30 a.m. Seaside Branch of
American Association of Univer-
sity Women weekly low-impact
group walk, followed by coffee and
fellowship. For information, call
503-738-7751.
Senior Lunch — 11:30 a.m.,
Bob Chisholm Senior Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside. Suggested do-
nation of $3 for those older than 60;
$6.75 for those younger than 60. For
information, call Michelle Lewis at
503-861-4200.
Columbia Senior Diners —
11:30 a.m., 1111 Exchange St. The
cost is $6. For information, or to
have a meal delivered, call 503-325-
9693.
Bingo — 7 p.m., Wickiup Se-
nior Center, 92650 Svensen Market
Road. For information call Mark
Tischer at 503-458-6482.
Need help getting
health insurance
by the Dec. 15
deadline?
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www.OregonHealthCare.gov | 1-855-268-3767
1139 Exchange Street
Astoria, OR 97103
503-440-3909
duganins.com