HARTFORD, Conn. — It was announced on Wednesday, the Connecticut National Guard has partnered with the City of Hartford to help in the investigation of the ransomware attack.
On Tuesday, Hartford Public schools were forced to remain closed on their first day of the new school year since the pandemic began. None of the staff or students' information was accessed and school was reopened Wednesday.
“Our IT team did tremendous work to significantly limit the success of this attack, and we are very grateful that we now have the added capacity and expertise of the Connecticut National Guard to help us restore operations and fortify our defenses even further,” said Mayor Luke Bronin. “This was an extremely sophisticated and complex cyber-attack, and it will take several weeks to fully restore functionality across our city government and school system. We are actively working with the National Guard and other partners to determine the full extent of the attack. A full restoration will take time and there will be bumps along the way. We are very grateful to our employees and residents for their patience and understanding as we respond to this unprecedented situation.”
Members of the CT National Guard's Joint Cyber Response Team are working with the city's IT department to make sure Hartford's cybersecurity remains as strong as possible.
“This was a severe attack, but thankfully the team’s rapid response and assessment in cooperation with the city ensured we can pursue recovery swiftly,” said Brig. Gen. Gerald McDonald, deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Military Department. “Our Joint Cyber Response Team is comprised of soldiers and airmen with military and corporate experience in several cybersecurity and information technology domains. We have the ability to call upon our guard members and rapidly respond to cyberattacks with as many as 100 highly skilled cyber-warriors if needed. As always, we stand ready to assist Connecticut and its municipalities as we do with all types of emergencies.”
