Connecticut guard members respond to Hartford cyberattack

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES

09.11.2020

Courtesy Story

Connecticut National Guard Public Affairs Office

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Connecticut Military Department’s Joint Cyber Response Team responded to the city of Hartford on September 9, 2020, following a ransomware attack to quickly restore critical systems necessary for the start of the school year.

The attack delayed the city schools’ opening, but the guardsmen’s response began less than 12 hours after the request for support and children returned to their classrooms, virtual or in person, the following day.

“This was a severe attack that affected approximately 300 servers, 3,500 computers and 40 schools, but thankfully the team’s rapid response and assessment in cooperation with the city ensured a swift restoration of services,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Gerald McDonald, deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Military Department. “Our Joint Cyber Response Team is comprised of soldiers and airmen with military and corporate experience in several cybersecurity and information technology domains. We have the ability to call upon our guard members and
rapidly respond in a state active duty status to cyberattacks with as many as 100 highly skilled cyber-warriors if needed. As always, we stand ready to assist Connecticut and its municipalities as we do with all types of emergencies.”

The first day the team restored services to the city’s fire and police departments along with schools and their transportation services while also assisting the city’s IT department with immediate triage, incident response, crisis management and mission command for the overall
response effort.

The second day the team provided an initial review of the city’s system logs, developing a narrative about the threat actor’s most likely path to intrusion, a comprehensive analysis of the existing threats and vulnerabilities within the city’s existing infrastructure and a prioritized list of recommendations to ensure the city is not vulnerable to subsequent attacks.

The ongoing response and analysis is being coordinated with USCYBERCOMMAND, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to ensure mutual support of information sharing goals to provide broad understanding of the threats facing institutions at all levels.

The Connecticut Military Department’s Joint Cyber Response Team consists of Air and Army National Guard members that serve in a state active duty status to provide defensive cyber capabilities to the state of Connecticut and its municipalities.

• Date Taken: 09.11.2020
• Date Posted: 09.29.2020 07:45
• Story ID: 379181
• Location: HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, US