Some City Agencies Briefly Locked Out Of Temporary Gmail Accounts

As the recovery from the ransomware attack on Baltimore City systems drags on, a number of city agencies and employees set up temporary Gmail accounts.

On Thursday, some of those agencies found themselves temporarily locked out.

James Bentley, a spokesman for Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young, said a Google algorithm identified the accounts as possible business accounts. While personal Gmail accounts are free, Google requires businesses and organizations to pay.

Bentley said the city would buy a business package, but did not say how long it would take to restore email service or how much the business accounts would cost the city.

It became a moot point Thursday evening, as Google restored access for city officials.

"Our automated security systems disabled the accounts due to the bulk creation of multiple consumer Gmail accounts from the same network," the company said in a statement.

We have restored access to the Gmail accounts for the Baltimore city officials. Our automated security systems disabled the accounts due to the bulk creation of multiple consumer Gmail accounts from the same network. — Google Communications (@Google_Comms) May 23, 2019

Young, who is at a shopping center conference in Las Vegas, is set to return to Baltimore on Thursday evening.

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Robert Lang contributed to this report.