Following a destructive “Black Cat” ransomware attack on Suffolk County computer systems beginning in September, the Town of East Hampton set out to fast-track its own cybersecurity in December, and on Tuesday approved a $360,000 expenditure to VirtuIT Systems of Nanuet, N.Y.
The firm will supply the town with its Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response system on a year-to-year basis, beginning yesterday and running for three years through mid-February of 2026. The company’s winning bid was about $120,000 a year.
The Suffolk malware attack crippled county computers for months, with ripples felt across the county and through agencies that have intersecting business with local governments, including nonprofit organizations that contract with the county to provide social services. In East Hampton that translated into, for example, funding shortfalls at the Retreat, a nonprofit that provides emergency shelter and services for victims of domestic, sexual, and school violence.
The contract with VirtuIT will provide the service and the hardware necessary “to improve the town’s network security by detecting and protecting against threats from various sources,” according to the resolution that passed on Tuesday.
