Jackson County, Missouri, is currently facing a state of emergency following a ransomware attack that occurred on Tuesday. This cyberattack has resulted in the disruption of certain county services. The local authorities are actively working to address the situation and restore the affected services as quickly as possible.
“Jackson County has confirmed a ransomware attack was responsible for the disruption of several county services today,”
the Missouri county said.
Due to the ransomware attack, the Assessment, Collection, and Recorder of Deeds offices across all Jackson County locations are expected to remain closed until the end of the week.
The county’s IT department is diligently working on restoring the affected systems, including those for tax payment, marriage licenses, and inmate searches.
Fortunately, the Kansas City Board of Elections and Jackson County Board of Elections have not been impacted by the system outage, as stated in an official announcement on Tuesday.
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, have been notified about the incident. The county officials are collaborating with external IT security experts to investigate the attack and mitigate its impact.
Jackson County Declares Emergency After Ransomware Attack Strikes
To facilitate necessary actions and safeguards, Jackson County Executive Frank White, Jr. declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. This declaration enables expedited IT orders, activation of emergency personnel, and enhanced measures to protect against further ransomware threats.
“All county staff are to take whatever steps are necessary to protect resident data, county assets, and continue essential services, thereby mitigating the impact of” the ransomware attack,”
“The County Administrator is directed to evaluate the need for appropriations from the County’s emergency fund and, if necessary, identify additional financial adjustments to address the fiscal requirements imposed by this emergency.”
White said.
Jackson County officials have reassured residents that the compromised systems do not contain any financial data belonging to residents. This is because the county utilizes the services of Payit, a third-party payment service provider.
All myjacksonCounty account data, including financial information, is stored securely outside of the county’s network. This separation ensures that residents’ sensitive financial data remains protected despite the ransomware attack on the county’s systems.
“In its commitment to protect residents, Jackson County prioritizes the security of sensitive financial information and does not keep any such data on its systems. Instead, these crucial details are securely handled and stored by our trusted partner, Payit,”
“Jackson County works with Payit to offer resident engagement and payment services for property taxes, marriage licenses, and other various payable items,” said the service provider.
“The service is hosted completely outside Jackson County systems, and we have confirmed that the myjacksonCounty system has not been impacted by the incident. No customer data in myJacksonCounty has been compromised.”
Jackson County, located in Missouri, is one of the 114 counties in the state. It encompasses an area of approximately 616 square miles and is home to an estimated population of around 718,000 residents.
The county includes the majority of Kansas City, which is the largest city in Missouri. Additionally, Jackson County encompasses 17 other cities and towns within its borders.
