Monroe County government servers experienced a network “intrusion” July 1, which caused a week-long shutdown of most government offices, according to a news release Monday. County offices reopened Monday.
The intrusion was perpetrated by BlackSuit, per the release. BlackSuit is a ransomware group which was tied to a ransomware attack in late June that affected around 15,000 North American car dealerships, according to Axios.
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts files and systems on a device, making them unusable. Perpetrators often then demand ransom for the files and systems to be decrypted or threaten to sell the affected group’s data.
The release stated evidence suggests no employee sensitive information has been misused, but the county does not yet know if vendor or public personally identifiable information was accessed. Officials will notify those who’ve had their PII accessed.
Examples of PII include Social Security numbers, financial accounts, credit card numbers, home addresses, phone numbers, biometric records and other information about an individual.
The county still does not know the extent of the data affected, but officials are actively investigating with third-party specialists, per the release.
The release stated it may be weeks before officials can provide more answers. The county recommended anyone concerned to lock their credit.
