A hacking attack recently crippled an upstate New York police agency’s communications system, an incident officials say illustrates the vulnerability of local government computer networks. 

The Schuyler County Sheriff’s Department had to get support from surrounding counties after the hacking temporarily paralyzed its 911 emergency system and ability to dispatch deputies to calls, said Peter Kehoe, director of the New York State Sheriffs Association.

Kehoe said such incidents “are a very big concern for us,” particularly since the disruption of a communications systems could severely impair a law-enforcement agency’s ability to protect the public during a crisis.

Experts say enhanced cyber-security measures are needed to counter attempts to breach networks stored on government computers, which often contain highly confidential and personal information.

Officials say hacking attempts appear to be on the rise, with those targeting government networks often based in Russia, China or North Korea.

A memo circulated by Schuyler County Sheriff William Yessman Jr. last week described the hacking episode there as a “direct attack from a foreign country on our system,” coming from a computer that “kept trying various passwords until it accessed our system.”

The attack on the sheriff’s agency came within a week of the release of an Aug. 24 report that found that government computer networks are often more vulnerable to attacks than the systems of fast-food chains.

That report, by SecurityScoreboard, a cyber-security consultant, was based on an analysis of more than 500 federal, state and local government agencies.

“Once a hacker is inside the organization’s network, digital assets can be compromised or stolen outright, throwing operations into chaos,” the report warned.

 The Center for Internet Security, based in East Greensbush, New York, provides advice and support to hundreds of local and state agencies, with help from federal funding. Center for Internet Security Vice President Brian Calkin said he recommends that agencies keep all data stored on their networks backed up in computers that are not connected to their systems and are stored in locations apart from their base of operations.

Keeping intruders out has become even more important since the use of ransomware — malicious software used to prevent computer users from accessing data until money is paid to those who planted the virus — became part of the repertoire of some hackers in 2014.

“Ransomware has become the bane of our existence,” said Calkin, referring to those in the cyber-security field.

Local government agencies often lack the funding to hire cyber-security professionals, or, in the case of many upstate sheriff’s departments and county boards of elections offices, have to rely on the county’s information technology department to handle their needs.

“In the cyber-security field, there are zero folks out there now who want a job and don’t have a job,” Calkin said in noting that government and other industries are recognizing the need to beef up on their security efforts.

Mahoney is a CNHI State Reporter in New York.