On Oct. 28, Chatham County Manager Dan LaMontagne reported that the county government computer system had been rendered inoperable by a cyber attack.
The attack targeted the county’s email, phone lines, and network. However, 911 calls and early voting systems were not disrupted. School Servers operated on a different system and were unaffected.
LaMontagne said that the county was in full cooperation with law enforcement. The culprit is still unknown at this time.
This comes after Durham County had a malware attack on its servers. The hackers used a virus that holds the county’s data hostage for ransom. Durham County has made changes to its cyber-security systems.
One of these changes was to add a two-factor authentication check whenever an employee logs in online. This requires the employee to not only use the proper username and password but also to verify the login on a mobile device.
How can you avoid a cyber-attack?
Avoid Clicking on Suspicious Links, especially from people you don’t know
Don’t download programs that you don’t know are safe
Don’t use the same password for different platforms
If you lose a computer or other piece of tech, report it immediately.
Sources
Photo from Unsplash by Charles Deluvio
