All Jefferson County Clerk’s Offices, including all motor vehicle branch locations, will remain closed indefinitely during a “cybersecurity investigation” after a ransomware attack.
The clerk’s office announced offices would be closed Monday night, saying it was due to an unexpected system outages. Officials later found the outages were due to a ransomware attack that started around 2 a.m. July 22.
Officials elaborated Tuesday, saying the agency is the victim of a cyberattack involving “ransomware.” That is when hackers install malicious software on a computer system, locking up its files until a sum of money is paid to unlock them.
At this time, officials don’t know the types of files being held hostage, or what is being demanded to unlock them, but said no personal information has been leaked.
The clerk’s office said it is working with a cybersecurity company to recover the files.
Ashley Tinius, the director of communications, media and public relations at the clerk’s office, said it is frustrating for everyone.
The clerk’s office said this is not tied to the CrowdStrike failure last week that caused offices around Jefferson County to close, prompting confusion and inconvenience for residents trying to renew their vehicles, and apply for marriage licenses and businesses licenses.
There are still some services available through the clerk’s office online, like viewing land records.
The cyberattack follows reports of massive backlogs facing Kentucky’s new vehicle information system, KAVIS, in Frankfort.
The switch to KAVIS happened in January and it has caused transactions to hit a traffic jam. Kentucky shut down all registrations January 1 so it could make the transition. It caused a lot of roadblocks by disrupting decals, plates, disabled parking permits, registrations or transfers until mid-January.
The former system, Avis, had been used by the state’s motor vehicle administration for nearly 50 years. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet had been trying to switch to the new KAVIS system since 2001, but now that it has made the transition, wait times ended up being extended by 25 minutes earlier in the year.
Source: WDRB
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