How ransomware suspended the life of offices in the Missouri district.
Jackson County, a Missouri county with more than 715,000 residents, was the victim of a ransomware attack that affected the tax payment system and online services, including real estate registration, issuing marriage licenses and searching for prisoners.
County officials reported "significant disruptions to IT systems, likely caused by a ransomware attack." Some systems have become inoperable, while others continue to function as normal. Due to the incident, the offices responsible for evaluating, collecting taxes and registering real estate transactions are closed indefinitely.
It is known that the cyberattack did not affect the Kansas City Electoral Council and the Jackson County Electoral Council. Law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity specialists are involved to eliminate the consequences of the attack and restore the systems ' performance.
District officials are currently working closely with cybersecurity partners to identify the cause of the incident and confirm the exact nature of the outage. So far, officials have not provided information on whether the criminal group has announced itself or made ransom demands, but it is emphasized that measures are being taken to prevent the attack from spreading further.
The impact on residents facing problems due to office closures is estimated to be significant. The authorities promise to continue to inform the public about the development of the situation. The incident was discovered by district officials on the morning of April 2. It is worth noting that Jackson County is not the only target of cyber attacks in Missouri over the past year — similar incidents have occurred in other institutions, including hospitals and transportation services.
Jackson County, a Missouri county with more than 715,000 residents, was the victim of a ransomware attack that affected the tax payment system and online services, including real estate registration, issuing marriage licenses and searching for prisoners.
County officials reported "significant disruptions to IT systems, likely caused by a ransomware attack." Some systems have become inoperable, while others continue to function as normal. Due to the incident, the offices responsible for evaluating, collecting taxes and registering real estate transactions are closed indefinitely.
It is known that the cyberattack did not affect the Kansas City Electoral Council and the Jackson County Electoral Council. Law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity specialists are involved to eliminate the consequences of the attack and restore the systems ' performance.
District officials are currently working closely with cybersecurity partners to identify the cause of the incident and confirm the exact nature of the outage. So far, officials have not provided information on whether the criminal group has announced itself or made ransom demands, but it is emphasized that measures are being taken to prevent the attack from spreading further.
The impact on residents facing problems due to office closures is estimated to be significant. The authorities promise to continue to inform the public about the development of the situation. The incident was discovered by district officials on the morning of April 2. It is worth noting that Jackson County is not the only target of cyber attacks in Missouri over the past year — similar incidents have occurred in other institutions, including hospitals and transportation services.
