Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13,2018
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
County increasing security
after April 23 cyber attack
No employee, citizen info compromised
Guns stolen during
rash of car break-ins
ByAllie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
County Manager David
Headley recently released
details about the ransom-
ware attack that crippled
Dawson County govern
ment computer systems
earlier this year.
In the county’s June
newsletter, Headley called
the attack “sophisticated”
and stated that no employ
ee or citizen information
was compromised during
the attack that began April
23.
“We also can confirm
that the attack was not a
result of any shortcomings
of Dawson County or its
employees,” Headley
wrote.
According to county IT
analyst Will Shattuck, the
IT department was first
notified around 2:30 p.m.
Monday, April 23 by the
tax assessor’s office,
which reported it was
unable to save work on
some of its files. Soon
calls flooded in from
many other departments,
and once the IT depart
ment began investigating,
it discovered a ransom-
ware attack.
Ransomware is a type
of malicious software that
encrypts writable data,
and only the attacker
knows the decryption key.
“We started shutting
down servers and trying to
minimize the amount of
damage, as it spreads very
quickly, through the net
works and through the dif
ferent servers,” Shattuck
said.
Headley said last week
that all departments were
affected in one way or
another and that the coun
ty is continuing to work
with cyber security spe
cialists to safeguard coun
ty systems from further
attacks.
“These proposed mea
sures will require an
investment on the county’s
part in order to keep up
with future technology
advancements,” he said.
In order to protect the
county’s security, Headley
said he couldn’t be specif
ic about the type of securi
ty the county had in place,
or what is in place now.
“I will say is we had
measures in place that
were in keeping with the
industry standards,”
Headley said. “If we did
not have what we had in
place, we would have suf
fered a higher degree of
data loss. Our future sys
tem will need to be modi
fied and monitored by a
higher level of industry
professionals.
“This methodology is
something you most likely
will see across the nation
as local governments,
municipalities, state and
federal agencies work
toward protecting them
selves. These threats are
real and have become the
fiber of information tech
nology and will only
advance from here.”
The county does have a
cyber insurance policy in
place through the
Association of County
Commissioners of
Georgia, but prior to April
23 it did not have an emer
gency management plan
in place for a ransomware
attack.
As far as how much the
attack has put the county
back, Headley said that
the county has currently
spent in the neighborhood
of $30,000.
“The dollar figure is still
growing due to safety
measures that will be put
in place,” he said. “Those
numbers will change as
the BOC reviews recom
mendations from staff and
industry professionals.”
Headley said the figure
is “a drop in the bucket”
compared to the loss the
county could have suf
fered and the expense the
city of Atlanta has experi
enced.
Atlanta was struck by a
similar attack in March,
which brought city servic
es to a halt. The city has
spent millions of dollars in
the aftermath of the attack.
In the newsletter
Headley commended the
county’s IT department
for mitigating the damage
of the attack through a
quick and dedicated
response.
“This team- Will
Shattuck, Cameron Burt
and Robin Roland- led by
Director James Tolbert,
has displayed outstanding
leadership and selfless
commitment throughout
this ordeal,” he wrote. ‘In
addition to a regular
40-hour work week, the
team has accumulated a
combined 297 hours of
overtime in dealing with
the cyber-attack. The sal
vation of our data system
is due to the team’s quick
response and around-the-
clock work.”
Headley also commend
ed the chairman and board
of commissioners for
expediting approvals nec
essary to get things done.
He recommended a few
easy steps that anyone can
take at work or at home to
protect against hackers.
Do not leave passwords
on your desk, on sticky
notes or taped to the bot
tom of your keyboard.
Do not give your pass
word to anyone, including
friends or coworkers.
Change your passwords
frequently.
Do not use the same
password across multiple
sites.
Do not open emails or
emails with attachments if
you are not expecting
them.
ByAllie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
Several firearms were
taken out of vehicles at
residences during a recent
rash of entering autos in
Dawson County, accord
ing to Dawson County
Sheriff Jeff Johnson.
Police reports show
that three firearms as well
as an iPad Pro and a Kate
Spade wallet were report
ed stolen when eight
entering auto reports were
filed on June 9. Another
wallet was also reported
stolen and the victim also
reported a fraudulent
financial transaction.
The break-ins reported
ly occurred in residential
areas: in the Creekstone
subdivision off Hwy. 53
in downtown
Dawsonville; on Brights
Way off Hwy. 53
between Byrd’s Mini
Storage and Dawsonville
Gun and Pawn; on Gober
Bluff off Hwy. 53 across
from Byrd’s Mini
Storage; in the Howser
Mill Subdivision off
Howser Mill Road; and
on River Valley Road off
Hwy. 53 at the bottom of
Gober Hill.
Johnson said that
whether or not the vehi
cles were selectively tar
geted in hopes of obtain
ing weapons has yet to be
determined.
Johnson said the best
practice to reduce such
crimes is to remove the
opportunity and not leave
valuables inside vehicles
at any time.
“Even during the day, it
only takes a thief mere
moments to scan the
inside of your vehicle,
make a decision to enter
and then act,” Johnson
said. “Most times, the
criminal is long gone
before the crime is ever
realized.”
Johnson asks the com
munity to activate their
car alarms, park in well-
lit areas, use security
cameras and remove all
appearances of valuables.
“We also urge our com
munity to participate in
neighborhood watch pro
grams,” he said. “Our
office can help facilitate
the implementation of
this program.”
Johnson also said that
the old adage of “see
something, say some
thing” rings true, and
urges citizens to call if
they see any suspicious
activity.
“If you see anyone out
late at night, possibly
dressed in dark clothing,
being dropped off or
picked up, observe any
thing suspicious; please
get a detailed vehicle
description, direction of
travel and call 911 imme
diately,” he said.
“Unfortunately we
must change the manner
in which we have lived
for many, many years. No
longer are we able to
leave doors unlocked, our
cars unsecure,” Johnson
said. “We must realize
that criminals are
amongst us and we must
take proactive steps to
protect ourselves and our
property.”
Dawson restaurant
inspections: May 25
through June 11
The following are food
service businesses that
were inspected by the
Dawson County
Environmental Health
Department from May
14 through May 25,
2018. A score of 69 or
less is failing.
Visit the Dawson
County Public Health
Inspection Page for a
searchable list of food
service scores:
http://
ga.healthinspections.
us/georgia/search.
cfm?county=Dawson
May 30
CHICK-FIL-A
RESTAURANT
231 Power Center Lane,
Dawsonville, Ga. 30534
Score: 91, Grade: A
Notes: Soup in steam
unit between 117
degrees and 123
degrees after being
reheated on 2-burner
unit; since soup is
made with leftover
chicken, it must be
reheated to 165
degrees and held hot at
135 degrees on the
steam unit.
JOHNNY'S NEWYORK
STYLE PIZZA
355 Quill Drive,
Dawsonville, Ga. 30534
Score: 95, Grade: A
Notes: Baseboard com
ing away from wall in
several places and wall
damaged at corners in
the kitchen; must keep
walls in good repair
and baseboard sealed
to prevent accumula
tion of food debris.
Sanitizer bottle empty
at dishwasher with
dishwasher in use.
June 4
CHIN CHIN
837 Hwy. 400 S STE
115, Dawsonville, Ga.
30534
Score: 87, Grade: A
Notes: Employee drink
in plastic travel mug
with straw; employee
drinks must be in sin
gle-service cup with
secure lid and straw.
Hand sink in women's
restroom has hot water
shut off due to leak;
handwashing sinks
must be able to supply
water at a temperature
of at least 100 degrees.
Slicer blade and under
knife sharpener of slic
er with accumulation of
food debris. Buildup of
mold debris in nozzles
of tea urns, need to be
cleaned at least every
24 hours to prevent
mold buildup. Most
bulk containers with
plastic to-go containers
being used as scoops
for contents and most
containers buried in the
food products; must
use a scoop or another
type of utensil with a
handle where the
scoop may be stored in
the food with the han
dle out of the food.
Buildup of food debris
on the sides of fryers
and inside fryers.
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www.dawsonnews.com
GAINESVILLE
BRASELTON