Ransomware still impacting Dawson County computers

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — As of Thursday afternoon, Dawson County had still not regained control of its computer system following Monday’s ransomware attack.

County Manager David Headley said the attack started at 2 a.m. Monday and that it would have been more severe if not for an alert from the Information Technology Department.

“I want to commend our IT Department for getting on top of this as soon as it happened,” Headley said. “That kept it from being even worse than it is.”

Headley said no personal data had been breached and that critical services such as 911 and Emergency Services were not impacted.

CBS46 News reported that local law enforcement officials, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service are involved in the investigation.

There has been some discussion of a ransom, but Headley declined to offer any details. “We don’t want to say anything that could jeopardize the investigation,” he said.

The county is insured by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) against this type of attack.

“Right now, we’re adjusting to doing things the old school way like writing checks by hand to make sure county employees can get paid and issuing permits by hand,” Headley said.

The county is working with its security company, Carvir Cyber Security, to resolve the situation as soon as possible.

 

 

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