Officials say the ransomware attack on the Seattle Public Library cost $1 million

By the end of the year, Seattle Public Library officials said they would have spent about $1 million responding to a ransomware attack in May.

The extent of the attack, which crippled the public library’s systems, internet, public computers and library catalog at all 27 locations in the city, is still under investigation, the Seattle Times reported. During a meeting of the library’s board of trustees last Thursday, the library’s director of administrative services, Rob Gannon, said that by the end of the year the library will have spent about $800,000 on consulting fees and $200,000 on additional IT costs to respond to the attack.

The consulting fees included $400,000 for consulting firm Charles River Associates to conduct a forensic investigation and negotiate “with the bad guys,” Gannon said, the Times reported. The library paid another consulting firm, Alvaka, $262,000 to restore the library’s network and computer terminals. It paid two law firms a total of $87,000 for legal assistance.

Gannon said the library expects to release more information about what type of data was accessed in a month. Gannon confirmed that data has been downloaded and that affected individuals will be notified.

“We know the data left the library,” Gannon said during Thursday’s hearing. “We don’t even have initial indications of the extent of the personal data that may have been compromised.”

Funding for the consultants and additional IT costs will come from the library’s budget, but officials said they do not expect the expenses to impact staffing or library operations.