A ransomware attack targeting OnSolve, a critical event management solutions provider, caused disruptions to its Hyper-Reach emergency notification service used by local governments across the United States. The company detected the cybersecurity incident on May 1, which directly impacted the platform responsible for sending out vital alerts to communities.

OnSolve confirmed it immediately launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity experts to understand the full scope of the attack. The company also began the process of securely restoring the affected systems and has been notifying impacted customers about the service outage.

Impact on Local Government Agencies

The service disruption left numerous public safety agencies temporarily unable to use the Hyper-Reach system. Affected entities included Erie County in Pennsylvania, the City of Port St. Lucie and Sarasota County in Florida, and Grayson County and the City of Allen in Texas. These organizations publicly acknowledged the outage and its effect on their emergency communication capabilities.

In response to the system failure, some agencies utilized alternative methods to communicate with residents. For instance, the Port St. Lucie Police Department used social media platforms to issue an alert for a missing endangered person. Sarasota County officials clarified that while their primary notification system, Alert Sarasota County, was impacted, other federal systems like the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) and the Emergency Alert System (EAS) for television and radio remained operational as they are separate from the OnSolve platform.

Investigation and Restoration Efforts

Following the discovery of the ransomware, OnSolve initiated its incident response protocols. The company stated its investigation was ongoing to determine the full nature and scope of the event. The focus of the response has been on safely restoring the Hyper-Reach service for its government clients. The company has not released details regarding the specific ransomware group responsible or whether data was exfiltrated during the incident.

Source: https://www.securityweek.com/ransomware-attack-disrupts-local-emergency-alert-system-across-us/