HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Hernando County started coming back online Monday after falling victim to a ransomware attack.
The attack took the county's site offline for several weeks.
The initial post on the county website states, “Hernando County government recently experienced an interruption to the countywide IT network. Upon learning of this interruption, the Hernando County Clerk's Information Technology Incident Response Team (IRT) was deployed. , IRT immediately began working with third-party computer experts to investigate the nature and scope of the incident and is working diligently to bring the network back online and minimize disruption to service wherever possible. Please be aware of this.”
“When I came here for business, I was told the system was down,” said Jay Cagno, owner of Jay's Custom Pools & Spas.
Mr. Canyo learned something was up last week when he was about to submit paperwork for his pool business.
“They didn't have any answers for me, they just told me they couldn't talk much about it,” he said. “They're just down for now.”
Hernando County authorities sent a statement to News Channel 8 on Monday confirming that the incident is related to a ransomware attack.
“Hernando County has become aware of a public post by a cybercriminal claiming to have obtained data during a recent network disruption and has confirmed that we are the victim of a ransomware attack.The County has confirmed that we are the victim of a ransomware attack. We are working with a team of federal law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to investigate the full nature and scope of the allegations and incident. At this time, we are unable to provide further information regarding the cybercriminal's actions, but we are actively investigating. Our teams are also working around the clock to resolve the disruption and bring internal and external systems back online. Our website provides the latest situation updates. We understand how difficult this time is for Hernando County residents and businesses, and we appreciate your continued support for our investigation and remediation efforts. We sincerely appreciate your patience and cooperation. The safety and well-being of our residents is our top priority and we remain committed to working tirelessly until the disruption is resolved.”
“It's crazy. I think anything can happen now,” Cagno said.
Authorities have not disclosed what information the hackers obtained.
Cagno said so far it's only a minor inconvenience.
“The customer's information will be there,” Cagno said. “I think the only thing that exists for me is my name, address, things like that, but no bank statements or anything financial like that.”
