EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Summer sun, but not so much summer fun for counties and school districts across Florida during this summer season.

With a network breach, and $700,000 worth of financial theft, the Florida city of Naples is currently working to restore its assets. The city assures residents that personal information and other city data has not been compromised.

Regarding the hack, a city official stated “We take cyber security very seriously. We actively train our employees to identify cyber security threats. In today’s business environment, it is not a matter of if you are going to be attacked, it’s a matter of when are you going to be attacked.” Leading cyber experts echo the sentiment.

Despite valiant cybersecurity education initiatives, the city still suffered a breach via a spear-phishing scheme. The attacker feigned affiliation with the Wright Construction Group, and stashed the pilfered funds in a fake bank account.

Law enforcement officials are investigating the matter. A police report indicates that the individual who fell victim had initially sensed that the email seemed phony, but upon conferring with a colleague, erroneously concluded that it was legitimate.

Out of sheer desperation, some cities have caved to the demands of hackers, paying high ransoms to recover stolen data. For example, on June 10th, Lake City reportedly paid a $490,000 Bitcoin ransom to the criminals.

For more on this breaking news, visit The Miami Herald.