Augusta contracts with law firm specializing in data privacy after network disruption

The Augusta Commission this week approved two contracts, including with a law firm specializing in data breaches.

One of the firms is Mullen Coughlin LLC, a law firm "uniquely dedicated exclusively to representing organizations facing data privacy events, information security incidents, and the need to address these risks before a crisis hits," according to their website.

The city is also contracting with Charles River Associates, a consulting firm with a broad range of services from cybersecurity to analytics.

More: Still down: Update on Augusta government's network breach

Also: Augusta Fire and Central EMS: No issues responding to calls despite network outage

The vote comes in the third week of an ongoing network disruption after some entity gained "unauthorized access" to the Augusta network. A ransomware organization called BlackByte has claimed responsibility. Commissioners at a Tuesday meeting declined to comment on the ongoing disruption.

A spokesperson for the city could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday afternoon, and the city records officer said no contracts related to the network disruption or restoration were available yet.

BlackByte has posted 10 gigabytes of sample data allegedly taken from Augusta, and threatened to leak 70 gigabytes more.

More: Augusta network hack: Alleged perpetrators threaten to release more data

The FBI told the Chronicle it is investigating the breach, but in a June 2 response to an open record request denied having any records related to such an investigation.

In a statement on June 2, the City wrote that "our Information Technology Department executed a path forward to restoration, which has allowed Augusta to continue to serve our residents and visitors, despite our technology challenges."

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta approves contract with data privacy law firm, consultancy