After the Ryuk ransomware attack on New Orleans in December, again cybercriminals hit the Louisiana city's Ernest N Morial Convention Center's computer networks on Wednesday, January 15. Officials have revealed details about the recent ransomware attack on Friday, January 17.

A convention centre spokesperson stated that this cyber attack incident was very similar to the attacks targetting City Hall as well as the computer networks in recent months.

New Orleans was targeted in December

It should be noted that in recent years, hackers are targeting the US and launching ransomware campaigns more than ever. In 2019, a total of 948 government agencies, educational establishments and healthcare providers were hit by ransomware attacks.

Last month the New Orleans' Mayor LaToya Cantrell declared a state of emergency after the City Hall was attacked by cybercriminals. Chief information officer Kim LaGrue said that suspicious activities and phishing attempts were detected on December 13 on New Orleans' network but hours later the technician investigators found a cybersecurity breach.

The new attack on the city

The spokesperson added that on the day of the security breach incident the convention centre was supposed to host events which were inconvenienced but not affected by the cyber attack. He mentioned that as of now "no sensitive personal employee data is known to have been compromised."

Later, the convention centre, who has a cyber risk insurance policy, filed a claim as soon as they come to know about the digital attack on the centre. The spokesperson said that this is a policy which provides "A host of benefits supporting the Convention Center through recovery with experienced subject matter experts" that also includes a cyberattack response team to contain, analyze, investigate and remediate the breach.

"That team was immediately engaged and has been working closely with Convention Center staff and legal counsel to respond to and manage this incident with the most minimal possible impacts," the centre's spokesperson further added. However, as per the reports, the centre has enough resources, including staff and retained experts to take care of the recovery.