One of Missouri’s largest counties confirmed Tuesday that it is facing a suspected ransomware attack affecting online tax payments and goods, marriage licenses and inmate searches.
Jackson County – which has a population of 715,000 and is home to part of Kansas City – said it had “identified significant disruptions to its IT systems, potentially attributable to a ransomware attack.”
“Early indications suggest operational inconsistencies within its digital infrastructure and some systems have become inoperable while others continue to function normally,” officials said. said in a report.
Assessment, collections and deeds offices throughout the county will be closed “until further notice.”
The Kansas City Board of Elections and the Jackson County Board of Elections are not affected by the attack.
Law enforcement is involved in the response and security contractors have been hired to remedy the breakdowns.
“We are currently in the early stages of our diagnostic procedures, working closely with our cybersecurity partners to thoroughly explore all possibilities and identify the root cause of the situation,” county officials said. “While the investigation considers ransomware as a potential cause, extensive analysis is underway to confirm the exact nature of the disruption.”
The county did not respond to questions about whether the group behind the incident has identified itself or whether a ransom has been issued, but the statement says it is taking steps to ensure that more systems are not compromised.
Officials acknowledged the impact of office closures on residents and said they would continue to provide updates.
The count wrote on Facebook that his colleagues discovered the incident Tuesday morning.
Several prominent Missouri governments and organizations have faced ransomware over the past year, including several in the Kansas City area.
Liberty Hospital was forced to move patients to other hospitals in a December ransomware attack against the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) said he was hit by ransomware in January.
Ballwin, Missouri – a city of 31,000 located about 30 minutes west of central St. Louis – told Recorded Future News in April 2023 that it was dealing with its own ransomware incident. Saint-Louis Metro Call-A-Ride Service for People with Disabilities was also attacked by ransomware gangs Last year.
St. Louis County agencies were thrown into chaos last year, after the county’s regional court information system – known as REJIS and also used by counties in Kansas and Illinois – suffered an incident that brought down the systemaffecting all police officers, jails, municipal courts and county attorneys.
The county was forced to arrest and release people jailed using paper records, and county officials wrote on Facebook that all court cases scheduled in St. Louis County Municipal Court were canceled for several days.
Future saved
Intelligence cloud.