“Code Red”: Recovering from a Ransomware Attack

On an otherwise quiet morning in January 2022, Accounts Payable Manager Robert Martinez received a “Code Red” message at his home from the IT Department at Bernalillo County, New Mexico.  The emergency message informed him that the county’s main computer system had been taken over by a ransomware attack and had been shut down. In addition, some website capabilities were not operational. As a consequence, the county’s government buildings and public offices would be closed.  Ransomware attacks…