How Ransomware Attack Transformed Atlanta’s Approach to IT

An interview with Atlanta Chief Information Officer (CIO) Gary Brantley highlights some of the changes the city implemented in the wake of an attack by the SamSam ransomware. The advanced attack, which the U.S. Department of Justice alleges was conducted by two Iranian men, affected computers and systems across Atlanta’s city government. “The first order of business was to get the environment back up to where it needed to be,” said Brantley. “But the next phase has been to establish a cybersecurity framework and put a renewed focus on awareness, not only for [city] employees but for the people who are doing the [IT] work on a day-to-day basis.” Brantley credits the attack with accelerating the replacement of many legacy systems and the migration to a hybrid cloud service that has improved security. He also says the incident encouraged the city to develop its relationships with its partners, some of whom assisted in the response to the attack. “I don’t think there was a true focus on it,” he says. “We really took the time to focus on re-establishing those relationships. That’s actually a goldmine.” Read the article at StateScoop.