{"id":231323,"date":"2026-06-14T08:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T12:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/14\/st-george-fire-protection-district-sues-cybersecurity-firm-over-network-breach-and-ransomware-risk\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T08:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T12:10:11","slug":"st-george-fire-protection-district-sues-cybersecurity-firm-over-network-breach-and-ransomware-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/14\/st-george-fire-protection-district-sues-cybersecurity-firm-over-network-breach-and-ransomware-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"St. George Fire Protection District sues cybersecurity firm over network breach and ransomware risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. George Fire Protection District sues cybersecurity firm over network breach and ransomware risk<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.firerescue1.com\/cybersecurity\/la-fd-sues-cybersecurity-firm-after-hackers-infiltrate-network<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-06-14 08:05:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.firerescue1.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
\n By Quinn CoffmanThe AdvocateST. GEORGE, La. \u2014 The St. George Fire Protection District is suing a Baton Rouge cybersecurity firm after hackers were found to have gained access to the fire district\u2019s network\u2014 and were lying in wait for a future attack.In a suit filed on May 23, the fire district is seeking damages for a December 2023 security breach that its contracted cybersecurity firm, General Informatics, allegedly failed to prevent.| READ NEXT: Cybersecurity for fire departments on a budgetHackers in that attack were found to have been \u201cliving off the land\u201d inside St. George Fire Protection District\u2019s computer network, meaning they were using legitimate and trusted software tools already built into the network to evade detection and gain access to other trusted networks.\u201cIn \u2018living off the land\u2019 attacks, adversaries commonly hijack legitimate tools to escalate privileges, access different systems and networks, steal or encrypt data, install malware, set backdoor access points or otherwise advance the attack path,\u201d the lawsuit said.Attorneys for the fire protection district suspect the attack aimed to eventually lock the district out of its own network, preventing it from responding to emergencies until a ransom was paid to regain access.The lawsuit claims the fire protection district was made \u201cimminently vulnerable to a cyber-attack.\u201dHackers could also have sought to leverage their trusted position within the fire district\u2019s network to gain access to other state or municipal networks, the lawsuit said.Law enforcement found that the same hackers who\u2019d breached the fire district\u2019s network had also successfully attacked another East Baton Rouge municipal agency, one that goes unnamed in the filing but is reportedly tasked with coordinating emergency services between the parish and St. George using \u201ccomputer-aided dispatch.\u201dThis other, unnamed agency was also a client of General Informatics, according to the lawsuit.Through its investigation, law enforcement also found that General Informatics had been using the same username and password for its remote access tool across its clientele.\u201cEven after learning from law enforcement in November 2023 that its remote access tool credentials were compromised, General Informatics continued to use known compromised credentials for its other clients, like [ St. George Fire Protection District],\u201d the lawsuit said.Passwords in plain textThe hack was first reported to the fire district by law enforcement on December 23, 2023, and agents soon reviewed the fire district\u2019s servers to identify the source of the breach.Law enforcement found that the network\u2019s \u201cdomain controllers\u201d had been compromised. These are servers that manage network security, authenticate users and authorize access to resources within a domain.\u201cIt acts as a central repository for user, computer and policy data, acting as a \u2018gatekeeper\u2019 to ensure that only authorized users access network resources,\u201d the lawsuit says. \u201cOnce the (domain controller) is compromised, the attacker can access any portion of the network, posing as any user.\u201dFollowing the attack, the fire district accepted the help of Louisiana Emergency Support Function \u201417, a subsection of the Governor\u2019s Office of Homeland Security and Environmental Protection, who spent five months reviewing the fire district\u2019s network security.According to the lawsuit, the agency was able to find multiple other vulnerabilities within the fire district\u2019s network, including a \u201cnote written in plain text which contained the fire district\u2019s administrative credentials for its various accounts and software applications.\u201dOther reported vulnerabilities included the fact the network\u2019s firewall was not recording logging activity and that the network was not \u201csegmented\u201d to prevent the spread of malware.The review also found that General Informatics had allegedly installed high-speed internet for the fire district at the fire district\u2019s expense, but then sold the fire district network switches that were incapable of accommodating the new high-speed fiber internet.Similarly, the lawsuit claims General Informatics never made any backups of the fire district\u2019s servers, despite being required to in their contract.The fire district was forced to rebuild its entire network following the hack, including getting new servers, new switches, new domain controllers, new firewalls and new backups, the lawsuit said.Following the hack, General Informatics also billed the fire district for server remediation efforts and for its own attorneys\u2019 fees.In response to the suit, General Informatics filed on May 18 to force the dispute into arbitration.<\/p>\n

The reduction in funding includes the proposed \u201creallocation\u201d of all members from Fire Station 6, a rapid response unit<\/p>\n

High winds forced crews to evacuate the structure just before the roof collapsed<\/p>\n

A Rockdale County firefighter died after being ejected from a fire truck while responding to a call<\/p>\n

June 13, 2026 08:52 AM\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n

NFPA and IAFC will support the new Secretariat structure, while UL Research Institutes will lead research and learning initiatives between Congresses<\/p>\n

June 12, 2026 03:44 PM\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2026 The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.Visit www.theadvocate.com.Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\n

The department\u2019s transition to Pierce custom chassis pumpers reflects a commitment to firefighter safety, operational efficiency and apparatus built specifically for urban fire service demands<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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