The City of Baltimore will transfer $6 million from a fund for parks and public facilities to help cover costs associated with a May ransomware attack.

Baltimore city officials last week agreed to transfer $6 million from a fund for parks and public facilities to help cover “remediation and hardening” costs associated with a May 2019 ransomware attack, according to The Baltimore Sun.

In addition, Baltimore officials last month said they are considering purchasing cyber insurance, The Baltimore Sun reported. The proposed cyber insurance policy would cost $830,000 and provide $20 million in cyber liability coverage.

A Closer Look at the Baltimore Ransomware Attack

Cybercriminals launched a ransomware attack against the Baltimore government on May 7. They used EternalBlue, which exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Windows XP and Vista operating systems, during the ransomware attack and demanded about $100,000 in Bitcoin to unlock hijacked files.

The Baltimore ransomware attack shut down the majority of the city’s servers and some government applications. Meanwhile, Baltimore has created a review board to audit its cybersecurity response and preparation going forward.

Cybercriminals Target Cities, Governments

In addition to the Baltimore ransomware attack, hackers have targeted municipal IT operations, government and transportation systems during several recent cyber attacks. A list of cities and municipalities hit by ransomware is here.

MSSPs can work with organizations across all industries to reduce cyber risk. They can provide endpoint detection and response (EDR), security information and event management (SIEM) and other managed security services, as well as help organizations create security strategies.