The Henry County Sheriff’s Office is back online after its systems were hit by a cyber attack. The department announced earlier this week that a “critical network problem” was affecting the courthouse and the sheriff’s office, including the dispatch center.
A news release issued Friday by County Administrator Erin Knackstedt and 9-1-1 Systems Director Matt Swanson said the department’s 9-1-1 services were “still operational and active.”
But while the investigation of the attack, and recovery from it, are still under way, anyone who has had contact with any public agency in Henry County is being asked to “take necessary precautions to monitor and safeguard their personal information.”
“Should any suspicious activity be detected in their credit reports or financial accounts, individuals are advised to promptly contact both their local law enforcement agency and respective financial institutions,” the release said.
The attack hit the department’s computer aided dispatch and records management system.
“While these systems are vital to the daily operations of public safety agencies in Henry County, 9-1-1 phone services and the public safety radio network were not affected. There was and is no direct threat to public safety,” the news release said.
The county information services department initiated their cyber response plan and isolated systems that may have been impacted by the cyber attack. An “internal incident response team, partnering with leading industry experts in forensic investigations” worked to determine the exact nature of the attack.
“Multiple law enforcement and government cybersecurity agencies have been engaged” in the investigation.
Leaders from the Kewanee and Geneseo police departments, the Emergency Telephone System Board and the Henry County Office of Emergency Management met earlier this week to address the impact of the attack.
“While the investigation into this incident and the corresponding recovery and restoration efforts remain ongoing,” the release said, “the cyber response team has made incremental but important progress in bringing systems back online in a secure manner.”
“In the interim,” the release continued, “public safety agencies across the county are leveraging pre-established operational continuity measures to provide essential services.”
Investigators said they don’t believe any data from the county’s records management system has been compromised or disseminated outside of the county network.
