3rd Florida Cyberattack: Village of Key Biscayne Reports Data Breach

Officials in the village of Key Biscayne, Florida last week reported a data breach, according to CBS Miami. The announcement comes after officials in Riviera Beach and Lake City reported data breaches this month.

Key Biscayne officials identified a data security "event" earlier this week, City Manager Andrea Agha told CBS Miami. They are working with outside counsel and third-party forensic experts to analyze the data breach and protect the village's systems against future security incidents.

A Closer Look at the Riviera Beach and Lake City Data Breaches

The Riviera Beach data breach occurred due to ransomware that was identified after an infected email was opened by someone in the local police department. The ransomware deactivated Riviera Beach's email system, phone service and 911 dispatch; meanwhile, Riviera Beach officials paid $600,000 to unlock the city's computer systems and restore data.

Like the Riviera Beach data breach, the Lake City data breach also involved ransomware. Hackers used ransomware to seize control of Lake City's data, and city officials agreed to pay these cybercriminals $460,000 to recover lost data from the cyberattack.

Key Takeaways from the Florida Data Breaches

The Key Biscayne, Riviera Beach and Lake City data breaches highlight the need to take a proactive approach to identify and address ransomware and other cyberattacks. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently provided the following recommendations to help organizations do just that:

Furthermore, MSSPs can help organizations detect and resolve cyberattacks before they lead to data breaches. MSSPs can provide managed detection and response (MDR), threat hunting and other security services to ensure organizations are protected against evolving cyberattacks.