A prison in Albuquerque, United States fell victim to a ransomware attack. As a result, security cameras and automatic door locking mechanisms cannot function. Horror!
As a result, prison security forces are now forced to lock inmates in their respective cells manually, while technicians are trying to restore the security system at the prison to function as before.
First reported by the Albuquerque Journal, the access of visitors to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) was completely closed, aka the prison had to be locked down because the security cameras couldn't function. The reason is that the internet network inside the prison cannot be accessed, which makes the security forces unable to access the records of the prison inmates.
"On the morning of January 5, 2022, the automatic door mechanism at MDC was disabled, meaning staff had to use a manual key to open the facility door. One of the most dangerous impacts of this cyberattack was that the MDC could not access security cameras," said Taylor Rahn. , the lawyer from the prison.
This ransomware attack also exposes the prison to potential lawsuits for violating prison conditions. One of these is the right of inmates to have regular access to telephones and other communication devices, which is currently unfulfilled due to the ransomware attack.
The prison lockdown is just one of the aftermath of the massive ransomware attack that hit Bernalillo County, one of the most populous cities in the state of New Mexico, on January 5, 2022.
Local government employees could not even access the government database, and all public service offices were temporarily closed. In a press statement issued on January 10 last, only a portion of the government's head office was able to operate.
In recent years, ransomware is a terrible scourge for private companies and government agencies in the United States, as the number of attacks continues to increase.
