Town of Summerville says it acted quickly amid an attempted cyberattack

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – The Town of Summerville said it took steps to fight against a cyberattack that involved ransomware.

Summerville Mayor Russ Touchberry told News 2 the issue was discovered sometime Thursday morning, but according to officials it was contained within 30 minutes.

“Thanks to our vigilant monitoring systems, the attack was quickly identified and contained, significantly minimizing potential damage,” the town said in a news release Friday afternoon.

Town officials said there is no evidence that any data or sensitive documents were compromised.

“We are working closely with state and federal cybersecurity teams to thoroughly investigate the incident and conduct a comprehensive forensic review of all our systems,” the town said. “We want to assure the community that all municipal departments, including police, fire, and public works, are fully operational and continue to respond to all calls, ensuring the ongoing safety and security of our residents.”

The mayor said on Friday they were working around some inconveniences as a result of the attack. For example, Summerville Police shared they had to handwrite reports and could access records Friday.

According to the mayor, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and federal agencies are investigating.

“Citizens should know that we’re doing everything as a normal business for all of the services that we’re providing to them. However, there’s an ongoing investigation and we’ll provide additional updates as soon as we know more. Transparency is extremely important for our town and public trust is important to us. We will certainly get information out as we learn more,” the mayor said.

News 2 asked Mayor Touchberry if the town will take different measures in the future in response to the attack.

“That’s a very good question. It’s something I have been thinking about today and I’m sure our staff has been talking about. After we come out of this investigation, having the benefit of national cybersecurity and state cybersecurity working with us, we’ll certainly seek their guidance on ways we can do better in the future or any updating that we need to have done,” the Mayor Touchberry answered.

Summerville town leaders said they are committed to maintaining transparency as they investigate the attempted cyberattack and will provide additional information when available.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2.