Officials: Hackers threatening to post stolen data from Suffolk County cyberattack

They say posts on social media were making the rounds on social media Friday after the county was the victim of a cyberattack last week. One of the posts regarding the county's court records, contracts with the state and other personal data of Suffolk residents will be or has already been published.

News 12 Staff

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Sep 16, 2022, 9:23 PM

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Updated 836 days ago

Suffolk County officials say it appears cybercriminals are now threatening to post stolen data unless the county cooperates.

They say posts on social media were making the rounds on social media Friday after the county was the victim of a cyberattack last week. One of the posts regarding the county's court records, contracts with the state and other personal data of Suffolk residents will be or has already been published.

"At the end of the day, there's nothing they can do or nothing they should do," cyber security expert Adam Schwam told News 12. "They just have to be prepared for what's about to happen."

The attack has vastly affected the county’s police department and traffic court with keeping records. County departments remain open, but the shutdown has also caused emails to not work. Their website is also down, and they have gone back to phones, fax and paper.

"Let's just say you have people out there who have committed some crimes," added Schwam. "You put that out there, that could hurt them forever."

County officials couldn't confirm if they know if this information has been illegally published, but will they say that information posted on the dark web yesterday indicates that a threat actor has claimed responsibility for the current cyber incident.