Suffolk Computer Security Vendor Reports Data Breach

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Suffolk County's computer team notified administrators in its network of a data breach, according to the county.

Suffolk County installed an Okta computer security application last year to protect its systems following a 2022 cyberattack, but the application was breached, causing the county to notify its administrators of new potential attacks.

"Earlier this week, Okta, a vendor utilized by public and private sector organizations around the globe, notified us of a security incident they experienced," a Suffolk County spokesperson told Patch. "While we have no evidence of increased security threats on Suffolk County we are following appropriate mitigation strategies. As we continue to strengthen our cyber security policies and procedures, we have put forth legislation to mandate vendors notify the county within 48 hours of a breach or attack."

Hackers breached the Suffolk clerk's office in 2021, and went undetected for about seven months before they accessed the county's main servers on Sept. 8, 2022, prompting officials to shut down all online services.

The hackers who breached Suffolk's web server demanded a $2.5 million ransom, though Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone did not pay it.

The Suffolk clerk's office was given the all-clear in February. The bulk of the county's departments were given a clean bill of cyber health in October, but not the clerk's, which had a decentralized Internet Technology department that was separate from the county's.

Bellone previously said that key security features had been implemented, and information not withheld, the cyberattack could have been thwarted.

The clerk's office's previous IT director Peter Schlussler was placed on paid leave in December. He has denied any wrongdoing, according to published reports.

Patch's Peggy Spellman Hoey contributed to this report.