Albemarle County residents and employees may sign up for free credit monitoring after a cybersecurity breach that may have resulted in the release of personal information.
The county was the victim of a ransomware incident on June 10-11, and during that time, the systems may have been “inappropriately accessed and/or obtained by an unauthorized issue,” the county said in a statement sent this morning.
It appears likely that the data of local government and public school employees was impacted by the incident. However, it is possible that others were impacted, and the culprits may have access to information including the name, date of birth, Social Security numbers and other identifiers.
“To provide peace of mind, and because trust is the foundation of everything we do, we are offering free credit monitoring and identity protection resources to our constituents and employees. We recognize how important personal information is and take our responsibility to protect it seriously,” said Jeff Richardson, Albemarle County executive. “While we have no evidence that anyone’s personal information has been misused, we want our community to feel reassured and supported.”
Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that the information is being used for harm, the county asserts.
Timeline: Discovery, investigation, additional safeguards
While the investigation remains ongoing, some initial details have been confirmed.
- On June 11, Albemarle County discovered issues with its IT systems and quickly determined that it was the victim of a ransomware incident.
- When county staff discovered the incident, they immediately implemented security measures and engaged leading cybersecurity experts to assist in assessing and resolving the situation.
- On June 12, members of the media were notified of a cyber incident that resulted in internet access being offline in county buildings. As a result, the county said that some services were temporarily unavailable.
- Based on their investigation, it appears the incident began late in the afternoon on June 10 and was perpetrated overnight.
- State and federal law enforcement agencies were notified, and the county is fully cooperating with their investigations into this matter.
- Since the incident, Albemarle County has completed a comprehensive review of its systems, implemented additional safeguards and strengthened its cybersecurity posture for the future.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that cybercriminals use to break into computer systems and lock up important data. Their goal is often to steal sensitive or personal information. Even with strong and up-to-date cybersecurity protections in place, these types of attacks are becoming more common.
The county had appropriate backups in place to restore its data, and the ransom was not paid to the cybercriminals, the statement said.
In 2023, the City of Waynesboro discovered data from the city’s digital infrastructure was stolen and posted online. Waynesboro had also dealt with a similar attack four years prior.
Complimentary credit monitoring offered
Out of an abundance of caution, Albemarle County is offering complimentary credit monitoring, fraud consultation, and identity theft restoration services to Albemarle County residents and employees through Kroll.
Residents of Albemarle County who wish to take advantage of the free identity monitoring services should contact Kroll directly at (866) 819-9798 to obtain these services. Residents may also reach out to Albemarle County officials via phone at (434) 872-4572 or email to [email protected].
For further information about this incident, please visit Albemarle.org/CybersecurityIncident
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Crystal Graham
