So far this year, ransomware has hit over 70 local government entities in the United States, a new Barracuda Networks report shows. The most prevalent ransomware strains used to target local governments are Ryuk, SamSam, LockerGoga, and RobbinHood, while email is the number one threat vector.
Fleming Shi of Barracuda warns that “the blast radius” of these attacks “can easily reach networks, applications, and a wide variety of sensitive and critical data.” Targeted organizations often have to spend millions of dollars to recover from these disruptive campaigns. For instance, the 2018 ransomware attack on the City of Baltimore resulted in total costs of around $18 million, while no ransom was paid.
Read more: State and local governments increasingly targeted by ransomware attacks