The investigation into a cybersecurity breach last week that disrupted the Bucks County Emergency Communications Department’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system is continuing, officials said.
The ransomware “Akira” has been identified with the breach that’s caused an “extended outage” of the CAD system, the county said.
While limited public information can be shared, Bucks officials said the county has informed its local, state and federal partners about Akira.
Akira started operations in March 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center. The Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) has victimized more than 60 small-to-medium-size businesses, the agency said in a September 2023 alert.
The ransomware, said the USHH center, drew attention for several reasons including its “retro 1980s-themed website and demands for ransom payments ranging from $200,000 to $4 million.
“Akira has been observed obtaining initial malware delivery through several methods, such as leveraging compromised credentials and exploring weaknesses in virtual private networks (VPN), typically where multi-factor authentication (MFA) is not used,” the alert stated.
Bucks officials stressed that its 911 system remains unaffected by the cybersecurity breach.
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