Suffolk Police Expect To Have Systems On Track By End Of Week: Report

YAPHANK, NY — The Suffolk County Police Department — currently writing information and filing using an old school system due to a ransomware attack — is expected to be back online using newer technology by the end of the week, according to a report by News 12.

The state's Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Service provided "a highly-sophisticated technology that will provide additional firewall protection allowing the department to bring its Computer-Assisted Database back online safely and securely," Commissioner Rodney Harrison told the outlet in a news conference in Yaphank.

The New York Police Department has also provided a call center with five extra emergency call operators, "who will help with the burden of 911 calls," Harrison told the outlet.

"Emergency operators had been working around the clock and unfortunately had to go back to our old system where call details were recorded by hand," he said.

News 12 reported that the changes are permanent and that the commissioner is looking at additional personnel for the department in the event of a security breach.

In a post on the police department's official Facebook page, Chief Mathew Lewis said an NYPD call operator came in very handy on Monday when they received a call for a woman in labor in Coram. The call was successfully transferred over to Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services and the mom and baby are now doing fine, he said.

Harrison said the department's brass does not "see any change."

"You know that officers are responding in a timely manner," he said. "We are up and running and making sure that we do whatever we have to do regarding public safety in Suffolk County."

Harrison told News 12 the county will continue to navigate the attack.

The county's webpages and emails went down on Sept. 8 after some unusual activity was detected and later determined to be a ransomware attack. Email was restored in some county agencies, like the police department, toward the end of last week. While the police Public Information Bureau was able to send and receive email, the department did not have access to the CAD, hampering its response to members of the press.

The criminal hacker group "BlackCat" has since claimed responsibility and has threatened to leak secure files, according to posts on the dark web.

County officials began operating "old school" last week, reverting to the 1990s, as investigators examined the county's web files.

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• Suffolk County's Websites/Email Down Due To Possible Hack: Report