Ransomware puts New Mexico prison in lockdown: Cameras, doors go offline

Bernalillo County, New Mexico, has been unable to comply with the settlement terms of a 27-year-old lawsuit over prison conditions because of a ransomware attack last week that saw prisoners back under manual control. County officials on January 6, 2022, filed a notice [PDF] with the New Mexico District Court overseeing the …

[Ceyarrecks]

Wait, what?!

sooo,.. they connect their INTERNAL security to,... the,.. Internet!?

why? so the Warden can log in from home and check on the residents?!

next everyone will connect their Loo to the Internet,.. and opps,.. RANDSOMWARE! and all your deposits get forced back up the drain,...

[ShadowSystems]

Re: Wait, what?!

Exactly. Methinks their IT department might need retraining in basic security...

[gryphon]

Re: Wait, what?!

Airgapping. We’ve apparently not heard of it.

[Clausewitz 4.0]

Re: Wait, what?!

The police doesn't have the same security of the military.

Already worked with both.

In police stations / prisons, usually the IT setup all and forget about it.

[parlei]

Re: Wait, what?!

Isn't this the nation where their naval ships talk to the Internet? Hopefully not all the way into weapons and command, but one can only hope.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/to-nobodys-surprise-ships-are-just-as-easy-to-hack-as-anything-else/

[Clausewitz 4.0]

Re: Wait, what?!

Most people are hoping UK Navy Missile system is not network-connected.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Wait, what?!

Don't worry, they're so outdated that they're still trying to work out how to get a coax cable long enough to reach the ships. I suspect in a few years they'll learn the joy of the BNC terminators.

[ItWasn'tMe]

BNC

BNC = Bayonet Navy Connector?

Yes, I know it really Bayonet Neill Concelman

[ItWasn'tMe]

Re: Wait, what?!

It is, but only to play tic-tac-toe.

[AndrueC]

Re: Wait, what?!

next everyone will connect their Loo to the Internet,

That would be a crap idea.

[Skiron]

Idea!

They will have to let all the convicts free on condition they raise/acquire all the money and hand it over to pay the demand!

[Fred Daggy]

Re: Idea!

That would probably be better than keeping (most of) them locked up in the first place.

[Pascal Monett]

"The attack took automatic security doors offline"

Well at least the installation reverted to manual control, instead of just opening all the doors.

Silver lining and all that . . .

Mine's the black one with white stripes.

[Is It Me]

Re: "The attack took automatic security doors offline"

You mean all those films/tv shows showing that all locks unlock at any form of attack aren't accurate, who knew?

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Re: "The attack took automatic security doors offline"

Electronic locks generally offer Fail Safe or Fail Secure

With Fail Safe if the power is removed the lock is open

With Fail Secure when the power is removed the lock stays locked

One would hope a prison would have fail secure locks...

[bombastic bob]

Re: "The attack took automatic security doors offline"

'Fail Secure' it seems, in this case.

And of course with a physical key override.

The hardware seems adequate. But the I.T. does NOT.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: "The attack took automatic security doors offline"

UK prisons, on the other hand, don't appear to use remote locking/unlocking in the bits I've seen. It's all done manually. Hack proof! (At least in terms of remote access)

[Prst. V.Jeltz]

confused article , whats the topic?

the 27 year old lawsuit?

the staff shortages?

the problems with medical records?

or the Ransomware?

[RM Myers]

Yes.

[J. Cook]

All of it, in one big messy garbage pit that's on fire.

[bombastic bob]

and did anyone mention what version of Windows Server and Micros~1 Exchange they were using?

(kinda like a certain politicians's e-mail server maybe?)

(Unpatched Windows server and whatever version of Exchange came with it are probably at fault, or that would at least be my first guess, and I would laugh really hare if it were Win2k3)

/me puts in a plug for FreeBSD and cyrus imap

[Paul Hovnanian]

The sales department ...

... of various service providers have spent a lot of time and money whispering in the ears of various CIOs about how wonderful the cloud is. And how much they will save by abandoning hard wired devices and implementing all the cell door locks and cameras as IoT devices, working over 5G.

Hookers and coke will win over common sense eventually.