By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
On Monday, the Wood County Information Technology Department detected ransomware on the county government’s computer network. Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.
As soon as this was learned, Wood County staff began working to investigate and determine the effects of the incident, according to a press release sent out this morning by the Wood County Commissioners’ Office.
In response, the commissioners’ office contacted law enforcement as well as nationally recognized third-party cybersecurity and data forensics consultants with whom the county is now working. The county’s information technology department and this cybersecurity team are working together to test and analyze the systems.
Fire and emergency resources, including 9-1-1 service, continue to operate. Phones in county offices are still functioning. Employees in some offices are performing their jobs the old-fashioned “legacy” way – with pen and paper.
Wood County Emergency Management Agency Director Jeff Klein, who is fielding questions today on the ransomware attack, said he is unaware of how much ransom is being demanded.
Klein said the issue was discovered Monday morning when several computers in Wood County offices were not functioning as usual.
Firewalls were tripped, so the extent of the infiltration was halted. The county has safeguards in place to keep private information from being accessed, Klein said.
Some emergency responders in the county, those tied to the Wood County Sheriff’s Office CAD system, are also being affected. Dispatchers and jail staff are using paper rather than computers to perform their jobs. But services to the public are not being disrupted, according to Klein.
Citizens should not see any difference in services, he said. “It’s business as usual.”
Bowling Green Police Division is one of the connected departments affected by the ransomware, with officials there unable to access some historical information. It’s an “inconvenience,” but it’s not interrupting service to the public, BGPD Lt. Adam Skaff said this morning.
Dispatchers are still answering the phones, and there are no delays in response times, Skaff said.
“If you call the police department, we’re still going to respond in the same timely manner,” he said.
Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said the impact of the ransomware are far reaching in his department – affecting dispatch, road deputies, the jail, and the civil division working with the courts. But employees are working through the issues, with road patrols bypassing the server, and dispatchers moving from paper and pencil to a shared Excel document.
“This has not shut us down,” Wasylyshyn said. “We are functioning. Every 911 call is getting answered. Deputies are doing their jobs. We’re just doing it the old-fashioned way.”
Experts are trying to determine how the ransomware got into the county’s system.
“It’s a very sad thing that this is a common occurrence today,” Klein said. But because it occurs so frequently, many experts are available to work on the problem, he added.
The press release noted that the Wood County commissioners are grateful to have some of the industry’s top experts helping guide the county in its response and will keep the community informed as updates are available. The commissioners expressed their ongoing gratitude for the public’s continued patience as business continuity measures are implemented.
