City of Mount Vernon Government Stops Attempted Cyber Attack-Hack

The City of Mount Vernon has apparently dodged a bullet, when a cyber attack was quickly confined. Here is the statement from Mayor Shawyn Patterson.

“Last Friday, the City of Mount Vernon was subject to an attempted cyber-attack which
targeted the City’s internal email and cloud storage systems. The isolated breach was quickly confined
thanks to the City’s new cyber security measures and updated servers put into place last year. No
information was stolen from staff or residents and over the past few days, the City has added increased
protections to cyber-attacks.

“The City is working with the Department of Homeland Security and New York State Emergency Services Cyber Incident Response Team to further investigate the origin of the attack. The City has continued to educate users about potential phishing scams and how to be protect their personal information from being compromised.”

The City of Yonkers government was a victim of a cyber attack and ransomware request on the same day as Mt. Vernon, Friday, September 10. The hacker was able to infiltrate Yonkers City Hall and most of its computers, but the City was able to retrieve most of its data and did not pay the ransom.