Jul 2, 2024

SF Chronicle Speaks to Ph.D. Alum Nick Merrill About Solano County Ransomware Attack

From SF Chronicle (Paywall)

‘Why would you hack a library?’: Bay Area county still struggling months after cyberattack

By Jessica Flores

Nearly three months after a ransomware attack disrupted phone lines, computer services and Wi-Fi across Solano County’s public libraries, systems are still down with no recovery in sight — an all too common plight for vulnerable government agencies, experts say.

Patrons who depend on using library computers haven’t had access to them since the April 5 attack, and some workers have had to find other ways to print papers or connect with other libraries, most of which still do not have working phones, library staff said.

Such ransomware attacks against government agencies and the public infrastructure they host are extremely common, said Nick Merrill, director of the Daylight Lab at UC Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity...

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Nick Merrill graduated from the I School with a Ph.D. in 2018. 

Last updated: July 5, 2024