The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office suffered a ransomware attack last week that knocked out the department’s computer systems, Lt. Adam Nicholson said Wednesday.
“We pretty much have to start up from the ground up again,” Nicholson said.
The department’s network remains shut down while IT support responds to the issue, Nicholson said. The system for filing police reports, the Wi-Fi, and all computers are inaccessible, and dispatchers have been working from computers at the Seymour Police Department.
Nicholson said IT support told him it was unclear if some data would be recoverable from his external hard drives. That includes many of the files for the sex offender registry, which Nicholson coordinates for Jackson County.
The ransomware impacted the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office's “entire network,” Nicholson said, and the department’s IT support is wiping computers and replacing hardware.
“Anything that it touched, it corrupted so bad, it won’t be able to be used again,” Nicholson said.
While the Wi-Fi and networks are down, officers are writing up police reports on Microsoft Word documents, Nicholson said.
Ransomware attacks use malicious software to encrypt files on computer networks, blocking users from accessing their systems. The locked networks can then be held for ransom until the user pays to regain access or to prevent leaks of sensitive information.
Similar cyberattacks have targeted local governments and departments across Indiana, including a 2024 attack on the Monroe County government which leaked 913 people’s personal data.
The ransomware likely spread onto the department’s systems from an email, Nicholson said. The virus may have been programmed to stay dormant for a day or two before activating and spreading through the network.
“It just went from one computer to the next one, next, next, and just started, you know, just tearing everything up,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson said the county will not pay a ransom to restore the impacted systems.
Jackson County Sheriff Rick Meyer and the Public Information Officer for the District 42 Indiana State Police did not respond to requests for comment, and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security directed inquiry to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.
The FBI’s Indianapolis field office did not comment on if it was involved in the response to the ransomware attack.
Nicholson said no other government offices in Jackson County were hit by the ransomware.
Nicholson said IT support is addressing the problem, and he hopes to have a system for filing police reports by next week.
Jackson County sits directly southeast of Monroe County, with a total population of 6.97 million. Its largest city is Seymour, and its county seat is Brownstown.
