Town officials took immediate steps to secure the network and notified law enforcement, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a news release issued Tuesday night. The town is working with nationally recognized digital forensics and incident response experts to investigate, including whether the network was breached and what personal information, if any, may have been impacted.
The town said it will promptly notify people impacted if officials learn of any personal information affected by the incident, providing those affected with specific steps to protect their personal data.
Town officials learned of the allegations on July 14, but systems have not shown evidence of ransomware nor data encryption.
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 3,729 reports of ransomware in 2021, with adjusted losses of more than $49.2 million. Those targeted have included municipalities and government facilities. There were also 979 reports of computer intrusion in 2021, causing losses of more than $19.6 million.
Those with questions about the incident may contact Frederick police Sgt. Bob Bedsaul at rbedsaul@frederickco.gov.
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