Pioneer Press: What to know from cyberattacks in other U.S. cities

Author: Kathryn Kovalenko 

The Pioneer Press featured insights from NetSPI CEO Aaron Shilts on why municipalities are increasingly targeted by ransomware attacks, pointing to under-resourced cyber defenses and the high value of sensitive public sector data. Read the preview below or view it online. 

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Cyberattacks such as the one in St. Paul that forced city officials to shut down city Wi-Fi and internet-based systems are not new. 

Between 2018 and 2024, there were 525 individual ransomware attacks carried out against municipalities and other government organizations in the U.S., according to Comparitech, a computer security and online privacy research company. Those breaches exposed more than 5 million records, with numbers escalating each year. Government agencies had an average of a month of downtime following ransomware attacks. 

“State and local governments have become prime targets for well-resourced threat actors,” said Aaron Shilts, CEO of Minneapolis-based cybersecurity company NetSPI. “These entities often lack the robust cyber defenses of major corporations, while maintaining critical infrastructure and sensitive citizen data that make them attractive targets.” 

You can read the full story here.