AgdaPkt 2020-12-21 Amended Joint SA PFA

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6.D. - Page 12 of 33 BACKGROUND Ransomware is a real and serious threat to every entity: government organizations, corporations, and individuals. The more dependence an organization has on the software and data in its network(s), the more important the concern should be. Loss of access to mission -critical data, systems, and software can severely impact an organization in both the short and long term. According to an October 2019 report by the National League of Cities, since 2013, Ransomware attacks have been reported by at least 170 county, city or state government entities across the United States.8 The actual number is likely to be much higher because it represents only those attacks that have been reported. Many infections go unreported when ransoms are paid,9 when organizations are seeking to avoid embarrassment, or when the attacks were simply undetected or untraceable. 10 This has been true even in San Mateo County where local public governing entities have had Ransomware attacks that were not publicly reported.' t Not only do such data breaches embarrass and slow organizational productivity, they can be very expensive. For example, the MIT Technical Review (2019) asserts: "Ransomware may have cost the U.S. more than $7.5 billion in 2019... the victims were 113 governments and agencies, 764 health-care providers, and up to 1,233 individual schools affected by Ransomware attacks ... most local governments do a poor job of practicing Cybersecurity.1112 The cost to the city of Atlanta to recover from its Ransomware breach was estimated at $17 million. 13 Similarly, a recent Baltimore Ransomware breach is estimated to have cost over $18 million. 14 In 2020, the UC San Francisco School of Medicine paid $1.14 million in ransom to recover its own data. 15 These are large cities and entities and although the ransom amounts they paid may not represent the expenses a San Mateo County public organization could incur, they provide examples of the severity of the potential threat and the enormous costs. Specifically, the costs of a Ransomware attack could include some or all of the following: 16 • Direct Costs: o Paying the ransom to obtain an encryption key and hoping that it works; o Expenditures for outside IT professionals and new systems providers to plan and implement improved breach security based on new Ransomware strategies; 8 National League of Cities report, Protecting Our Data: What Cities Should Know About Cybersecurity. Forward by Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director. 9 llttps://health itsecurity.comlriewslas-ransontware-attacks-increase-dhs-alerts-to-C vbersecurity-insights 10 Sheehan, Patrick, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, Cascading Effects of Cyber Security on Ohio, September 19, 2012 11 Grand Jury survey responses 12 NET Technology Review, Ransomware may have cost the US more than $7.5 billion in 2019, January 2, 2020 13 The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, Stephen Deere. Confidential Report: Atlanta's cyber attack could cost taxpayers $17 million. August 2018. 14 Baltimore Sun, Ian Duncan, Baltimore estimated cost of ransomware attack at $18.2 million as government begins to restore email accounts. May 29, 2019. 15 San Jose Mercury News, David Wu, "UCSF pays $1.14 million ransom to recover data', July 4, 2020 16 https://y►Www.sentirtelone.com/bloc/Nvliat-is-the-true-cost-of-a-ransomware-attack-6-factors-to-consider/ 2019-2020 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury 4 133