Brown County received notification of a breach when computer system shut down in August
Brown County received notification of a breach when computer system shut down in August
ELISA SAND | Aberdeen News
Months after the Brown County computer system was down for an extended stretch, a few details about the incident are being confirmed.
Emergency Management Director Scott Meints said the incident started on Aug. 1 when the county's information technology department received a notification that an external agency had set up malware to activate and/or extract data from the county computer system.
At the time, Brown County officials said they immediately shut down the computer system, then an external firm was hired to investigate. Meints said that investigation showed whoever got into the county system did not get any information, and it's unknown what information they sought.
More: Commissioners say no ransom paid after county computer system shutdown; some issues linger
Since August, there has been speculation in the community that the county was hit with a ransomware attack. When that happens, a computer system is encrypted and a ransom, usually a large amount of cash, is sought to receive the decryption code.
Meints said all he can say is that no ransom was paid by the county, which is what county commissioners have also previously said.
The cost for the external firm to investigate and improve the county computer system was covered by the county's insurance, Meints said.
Full restoration of the system took a considerable amount of time. While all systems are now back up and running, nearly a month after it went down, only about 90% the system had been restored. Meints said that's because even though much of the county's system was backed up, those files were extensive. For example, he said, downloading one file took 12 days.
County systems were also connected to other external agencies, Meints said, and county officials wanted to make sure everything was safe before reconnecting.
While 911 services were available after the shutdown, much of the computer system was down for about 10 days.
ELISA SAND | Aberdeen News
Months after the Brown County computer system was down for an extended stretch, a few details about the incident are being confirmed.
Emergency Management Director Scott Meints said the incident started on Aug. 1 when the county's information technology department received a notification that an external agency had set up malware to activate and/or extract data from the county computer system.
At the time, Brown County officials said they immediately shut down the computer system, then an external firm was hired to investigate. Meints said that investigation showed whoever got into the county system did not get any information, and it's unknown what information they sought.
More: Commissioners say no ransom paid after county computer system shutdown; some issues linger
Since August, there has been speculation in the community that the county was hit with a ransomware attack. When that happens, a computer system is encrypted and a ransom, usually a large amount of cash, is sought to receive the decryption code.
Meints said all he can say is that no ransom was paid by the county, which is what county commissioners have also previously said.
The cost for the external firm to investigate and improve the county computer system was covered by the county's insurance, Meints said.
Full restoration of the system took a considerable amount of time. While all systems are now back up and running, nearly a month after it went down, only about 90% the system had been restored. Meints said that's because even though much of the county's system was backed up, those files were extensive. For example, he said, downloading one file took 12 days.
County systems were also connected to other external agencies, Meints said, and county officials wanted to make sure everything was safe before reconnecting.
While 911 services were available after the shutdown, much of the computer system was down for about 10 days.
