Andy (River) Peterson

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

RT @uuallan: When Ransomware Hits Rural America https://t.co/ltn6HTXtF5 via @kansasalps — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

Yes, my working title for this story was "Ransomware on The Range," but I wasn't sure if non-Kansans would get the reference. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

RT @jvagle: Excellent thread and story about the dire effects ransomware attacks have on small communities and local government systems. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

@NEGordon Thank you! It was a complicated one, but even got to use some state record requests docs to flesh out — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

In Butler County, it’s easier to speak out now, years after the attack—but for now, Pottawatomie County residents are still waiting to find out more. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

The silence of some victimized counties can also make it harder for the sector to get the resources they need to protect themselves, experts told me. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

County officials appeared suspicious of me during reporting—which was understandable given the circumstances—but the lack of transparency led many I spoke to complain that the government was trying to keep things "hush, hush" or "sweep it under the rug" — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

A month after the attack was discovered, Pottawatomie says its systems are recovered, but the full scope of the information compromised in the attack, the full recovery costs, and many other details are still unclear. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

Cybersecurity insurance with coverage for digital ransoms is key for counties trying to protect themselves, but also sets up incentives that seem at odds with the FBI's guidance not to pay off attackers because it funds further cybercrime. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

But even with defenses, ransomware attacks now seem like an inevitability to some. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s when,” said William Johnson, the County Administrator of Butler—another rural Kansas county which was the victim of a ransomware attack in 2017. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

National Association of Counties Chief Information Officer Rita Reynolds toe me defense often comes down to having those resources. “It’s whether or not they are equipped—if they have the right tools and people to protect the perimeter,” she said. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

Counties with smaller populations, in particular, can be key lifelines to residents that may be protecting everything from health records to industrial systems that control utilities like water—often while facing similar risks to their urban counterparts, but with fewer resources — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

But MS-ISAC, an intelligence sharing group for state, local, tribal, and territorial governments with more than 2,500 members, said it detected 255 “ransomware incidents” across entities using their monitoring services from January through July of this year — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

It’s hard to say just how many counties have been held hostage by ransomware, in part because disclosure may not be required unless the breach affects certain protected kinds of information such as health data. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

Pottawatomie County discovered the attack on September 17 and it ultimately paid the attackers off—but not the full amount. The attackers originally demanded $1 million, but settled for $71,250 after what the county calls “a successful negotiation." — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

How the county and community reacted highlights the complicated economic, financial, and social factors at play when local government systems are compromised—including just how much information is at stake and how such attacks should be disclosed to the communities they serve. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

Westmoreland, Kansas is the seat of Pottawatomie County and home to around 750 of its 25,000 residents. It's an Oregon trail town, but in recent weeks it was the site of another modern migration—this one of data, stolen from the County’s computers by cybercriminals . — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

I got into my hometown for a visit just as the County next door was the victim of a ransomware attack that paralyzed its systems and left some services offline for weeks—so I covered it on the ground, seeing how the local government and the community responded. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

Here's what it looks like when ransomware attacks victimize rural communities: https://t.co/9PTYj2cNlM — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

I visited my family in Kansas, only to arrive as the County next door was going through a ransomware attack that paralyzed its systems and left some services offline for weeks. Here's what happens when ransomware hits local government in rural America: https://t.co/9PTYj2cNlM — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

This whole thread is required reading for cybersecurity industry folks — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

RT @hacks4pancakes: PSA: Shitty frat boy behavior at tech cons *always* bothered and pushed away a ton of people, but for decades the only… — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

RT @bigblackjacobin: It's actually very simple. When Facebook does embargoes, that's because they're necessary. Those embargoes are meant t… — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

@KateHoit Yup!!! Medium, short working well for me as a 5’ish person with round geometry. MANY, MANY pockets for secrets, etc. — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

RT @olgakhazan: Another element of the pandemic's racial disparity: Suicides declined among white Marylanders during lockdowns; they rose a… — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

@erikherron @C_Wolbrecht @GeneMeyer I always love to tell people the big John Copper Brown is currently "occupying" a mantel in West Virginia! Thank you again for commissioning me to make one of my favorite pieces about our mutual obsession! — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

Cc @KateHoit it’s the Carhartt ones — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

The right amount of obsessed with finding a pair of queer non-binary signaling overalls that fit my femme frame—and also how I look in them https://t.co/bdehcTpuQG — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

RT @campuscodi: A hacker has gained access and stolen a government ID database holding the personal information of Argentina’s entire popul… — PolitiTweet.org

Andy (River) Peterson @kansasalps

@Sifill_LDF So grateful to share — PolitiTweet.org