More information regarding recent ransomware attacks

VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A certain kind of cyber attack has been making headlines in Indiana after affecting multiple local governments.

Ransomware has been the talk of the town over the last few days after the attack on Clay County. Monroe and Clay Counties are dealing with a similar situation that Vigo County encountered back in 2019. Former Vigo County commissioner Brendan Kearns says that it caught them by surprise.

“At about 2 a.m. our IT department was notified by a system they had in place that we had an infection within our computer system,” Kearns said. “Initially we thought it was what we call a malware attack. We later learned by the next day that it was actually a ransomware attack.”

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency says that ransomware is a form of malware that is designed to encrypt files and hold them for ransom. Kearns says that local governments are then left with a choice of whether or not to pay.

“We call it a ransomware,” Kearns said. “While Vigo County government did not have to pay a ransom, the ransom was asked. I can’t share specifics as I recall due to the way the investigation was. I do recall it came from an Eastern European area on our globe.”

While the recently affected agencies have yet to go on camera, Clay County commissioners filed a local disaster declaration on July 11. Current Vigo County commissioner Chris Switzer says that they are taking precautions to avoid another attack in Vigo County.

“What happened after that cyber attack is we worked with the Indiana Office of Technology to enforce our cyber security that we already had in place, offer trainings to our employees, which are required at this point,” Switzer said. “Just making sure that our employees know that if they get an email with a link in it, to make sure they do their due diligence.”

This is still a developing story. Clay Co. officials announced that the courthouse is not expected to re-open until at least July 22.

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