Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, December 11 (Xinhua)-- cyber attacks on government agencies are nothing new, but they have reached new heights beyond expectations. The case that occurred this autumn shows that the entire municipal government and even the national government can be seriously damaged by cyber criminals. This impact can set people across the country back decades in technology.

Tuyuan Pexels reports that the government of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has been paralyzed by cyber attacks since the beginning of November. Details of the attack are still unclear, and more than a month later, only about 70% of government services have been restored.

Vanuatu's newly elected government began to notice problems with the government's computer system on its first day in office on November 6th, and eventually all government computer services were paralyzed by cyber attacks. Government officials do not have access to government e-mail accounts, citizens cannot renew their driver's licenses or pay taxes, and medical and emergency information is not accessible. For many daily government affairs, we have to return to the pen-and-paper era to replace computers.

The Government of Vanuatu acknowledged that a loophole in its central connection system was detected in early November, but did not disclose further details. Some sources, including the nearby Australian press, claimed that the incident was a blackmail software attack, and Australia sent experts to help repair the system. However, the Government of Vanuatu has not yet confirmed the nature of the loophole.

One reason why this is thought to be the blackmail software is that a very similar incident took place in a county in the United States about a month before the Vanuatu government system was shut down. On September 8, Suffolk County detected a blackmail software attack that the county responded to by shutting down its computer system. The cyber attack affected government departments from the police to social services, which were forced to revert to the technology of the early 1990s, which used radio dispatching, paper checks and fax machines for several weeks.

In addition, the county announced that the attackers had stolen citizens' personal information, such as driver's license numbers. A county magistrate accused an online gang called Black Cat of launching the attack, which had been known for its attacks in Italy and Florida. It is reported that the county's computers do not use two-factor authentication, and run on outdated computer systems, the upgrade cost is too high.

CTOnews.com has learned that areas like Suffolk County or small countries like Vanuatu are ideal targets for cyber attacks because of their lack of resources compared with big governments. As there are many similar targets around the world for cyber criminals to attack, similar incidents are likely to happen in the future.

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