Oakland still grappling to recover from ransomware attack

Officials in the City of Oakland, California, are still facing challenges in facilitating recovery from a Play ransomware attack that has resulted in city service disruptions and extensive data leaks, Government Technology reports. Nearly 11GB of data, including Oakland city employees' data, police details, and other city files, have been exposed by the Play ransomware operation, also known as PlayCrypt, over the weekend. While Oakland city officials have not revealed more details regarding the attack, the intrusion, which has led to the temporary shutdown of the city's 311 line and business tax payment processing systems, among others, has been regarded to be "really devastating" by UC Berkeley Cybersecurity Academic Program Director Sarah Powazek. "It's a big deal, and it's really unfortunate how poorly prepared folks are for dealing with this. And I'm not blaming the city at all it's sad that cities are supposed to be prepared and know what to do with what is an international cyberattack," Powazek said.