Newark Police Department

The Newark Police Department, also known as NPD, is a law enforcement agency headquartered in the United States of America. Its primary function involves providing policing services to the community, including maintaining public order, preventing and investigating crime, and ensuring public safety. Core operational activities necessitate access to and management of sensitive crime data analysis tools and systems crucial for daily law enforcement tasks. The department operates essential emergency services critical to community safety and security.

In April 2016, the Newark Police Department experienced a significant cybersecurity incident impacting its computer systems. A virus infected the department's infrastructure on April 14th, resulting in locked servers and disrupted access to vital crime data analysis capabilities. Remediation efforts required extensive collaboration with federal, state, and county authorities and took four days to resolve. Despite the disruption to internal systems and data tools, emergency services remained operational throughout the incident, and subsequent investigations found no evidence of compromised data. This event highlighted the cybersecurity vulnerabilities faced by critical emergency service providers, paralleling similar challenges experienced contemporaneously by other entities like a Los Angeles hospital affected by ransomware. Following the attack, the Newark Police Department implemented additional security measures aimed at preventing future incidents, though the specific nature of these enhancements was not publicly detailed.