In March, Plainfield fell to a cyber attack. Now the town has a plan to stop the next one.

PLAINFIELD - Just shy of three months after the town’s computer systems were infiltrated by hackers, selectmen have implemented new safeguards designed to prevent future incursions.

Among the new policies, approved by the Board of Selectmen on June 1, is a website "terms and conditions of use" link that will be embedded on the municipal webpage warning users that they are bound to comply with any applicable local laws.

The policy language states the town has not reviewed all sites linked to its website and is not responsible for related content. It also includes a privacy clause laying out if and how any user personal information may be collected.

A second policy, titled “incident response,” is concerned with the town's response to data security incidents - such as the recent attack - as well as town employees’ responsibilities in reporting such breaches.

That policy acknowledges the town is responsible for training its employees to recognize and report any information related to a cyber-security issue.

“This is the kind of thing we should have been doing years ago and we’re now catching up on,” First Selectman Kevin Cunningham said on Thursday. “It basically says what people can and can’t log on to. And that includes employees and volunteer workers using our internal systems.”

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In March, hackers gained access to police and town hall computer systems, encrypting files and holding the data hostage as part of a demand for $199,000 in bitcoin. The ransomware attack affected phone lines, laptops, records’ systems and a host of other components.

Cunningham said the town is nearly recovered from the attack.

“We still get an occasional blip where someone’s email access isn’t available,” he said. “We had to use hard-copy documents to recreate some of those system layers and, for instance with our finance department, use written weekly reports to keep on top of things as we went along.”

He declined to say how the attackers penetrated the system, but said no ransom was paid to the cyber criminals.

“Never,” he said.

Deputy Chief Will Wolfburg said the police department, which at one point had to rely on neighboring departments for routine traffic stop and other call information, is also just about back to normal.

“Really what’s left is getting our records’ management system up,” he said. “That’s where things like our report templates and call histories are stored. We expect that to be set by mid-July.”

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Cunningham pegged the financial fall-out from the attack at roughly $350,000 with new software purchases, re-wiring and third-party IT assistance. He said the bulk of the money - $230,000 - was pulled from a planned Quinebaug Valley Trail extension project previously put on hold.

Cunningham said the town is preparing cyber-safety training sessions that will be required for all municipal employees. He said the effects of the attack, while serious, were blunted by the patience of residents.

“We were fortunate they were so supportive,” Cunningham said.

John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Plainfield cyber attack leads to new polices, employee training