Council President Scott calls for cybersecurity special committee

As Baltimore City continues to grapple with a ransomware attack that has halted some city functions and made others more challenging, slow, and anachronistic, newly elected City Council President Brandon Scott has called for the city to create a Special Committee on Cybersecurity and Emergency Preparedness. Scott convened the committee with co-chairs District 11 Councilman Eric Costello and District 5 Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer, to examine Baltimore’s “coordination of cybersecurity efforts, including the Administration’s response to the cybersecurity attack and testimony from cybersecurity experts,” a statement from Scott said. He expressed relief that many city services, including public safety agencies, water services, and public works, are able to operate currently without interruption. But that respite is short-lived when the city does not know when the threat of this current attack, or future technical assaults, will end or who perpetrated it. The attack has prompted many neighboring jurisdictions to review their own cybersecurity infrastructure and policies.