UPDATE: 1:15 p.m. Saturday
An ongoing internet outage that has affected numerous Brown County government offices for several days this week was the result of an apparent cyberattack that is being investigated by law enforcement agencies.
Brown County Commissioners released the following statement Saturday regarding what officials called a “network intrusion”:
“At approximately noon on the 23rd of October, Brown County Government experienced a network intrusion that resulted in the disruption of certain county services. IT is currently working with numerous state and federal agencies who are assisting and directing efforts to restore operations.
“The Judiciary, Health Department, and 911 services are operating without issue. All other county agencies are open for business in a limited capacity, though some functions have not yet been fully restored. Please call ahead to ensure you can be served. No further information will be released at this time.”
11 a.m. Thursday update:
An internet outage is limiting service in Brown County government offices, which are open today but with limited staffing, county officials said.
County government offices closed early Wednesday afternoon after a disruption of internet service shortly after noon Wednesday, according to Brown County Commissioners President Jerry Pittman.
Pittman said phone service had been restored and that the county’s information technology department led by Laura Minett and others were “working diligently to get everything put back together from what happened.”
Pittman said it was not clear whether the outage had been caused by a hack or cyberattack. He said he was unaware of any disruptions outside of Brown County offices. The county is served by Smithville Internet.
Brown Circuit Court Judge Mary Wertz said Thursday that the court was open and taking phone calls and appointments as usual.
ORIGINAL STORY, 3:15 p.m. Wednesday:
Brown County government offices including the courthouse and government office building closed early Wednesday due to technology issues. Details were not immediately available, but internet and phone service appeared to be affected.
Shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday, a sign posted on the courthouse door read, “Courthouse closed due to technology issues.” Likewise, the county office building closed early and other county services including the jail and emergency services also appeared to be dealing with technology issues.
This article will be updated as information becomes available.
