The Download
The Seattle Public Library announced on May 28th that it's network systems have been brought down by a cybersecurity event. Geekwire reports that the library was attacked by ransomware. As of June 2nd the library's networks continue to remain down while response, forensics and recovery efforts are underway.
This attack follows similar attacks against public libraries in Toronto and London last year. The British Library was attacked in late October 2023 and taken offline for months causing severe disruption to libary services and patrons.
Libraries and other municipal organizations make for soft targets with high impact. Most do not adequately fund cybersecurity nor plan for the contingency that a ransomware attack may bring them down. Given these attacks, you can expect more attacks against public services such as libraries.
What You Can Do
The attack against the British Library "The B.L." was severe enough to take it offline for months disrupting not only Iibrary services but the work of researchers who use its historic papers. We do not know how long the Seattle Public Library systems will be offline, but one thing we know is that any network is susceptible to compromise and ransomware.
The best defense is aligning your cybersecurity program with the NIST Cyber Security Framework (CSF) and implementing the program in all of its five major categories. ThreatMate can address Identify and Protect, the two starting steps off the bat.
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