County computer outage blamed on cyber-security act, official says | News
County computer outage blamed on cyber-security act, official says | News
https://www.ladysmithnews.com/news/article_f7565903-42f3-451e-b5d3-00e082703864.html
Publish Date: 2026-03-18 08:00:00
Source Domain: www.ladysmithnews.com
For the second time in five months, computer systems at the Rusk County Government Center are down, with the outage being blamed this time on a cyber-security incident, according to a press release sent out by Administrative Coordinator Ashley Heath on March 11.
A similar outage occurred in November 2025, with systems at that time being down for approximately three days.
According to a press release sent out by Administrative Coordinator Ashley Heath, “Rusk County recently discovered a cybersecurity incident impacting its network environment. We are currently working with a team of forensic experts to fully understand the extent and implications of this incident and to restore operations within a safe and remediated network environment.” Heath outlined steps they are taking, including the retainment of expert third-party forensic specialists, and the undertaking of a comprehensive assessment that may take several weeks, saying that they are sparing no effort to bring their systems back to seamless operation. “Rusk County remains fully committed to the protection of community and employee information, systems security, and data privacy. County departments remain open and staff are available to assist residents. Please be assured that we are sparing no effort to continue to allow us to provide the highest service to our community.”
An email to media from Miranda Kron, Office Coordinator at the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, states that they are slowly getting their systems back up and running, and that their law enforcement systems are being rebuilt. Once rebuilt, the dispatch logs will be sent out as normal.
County officials emphasized that while they are not calling this incident a ransomware attack, the investigation is ongoing, and they will provide information to the public as it proceeds.
In general, a…
