The City of Green River is dealing with a ransomware situation that has impacted its computer systems.
Chris Meats, the city’s finance director, confirmed to SweetwaterNOW the city has fallen victim to a ransomware attack. So far, he said there isn’t evidence of data being accessed or taken.
“At this point, there is no evidence of a data breach or exfiltration,” Meats said. “It has crippled our systems.”
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Meats said he was unable to comment further on the situation.
Ransomware is a malicious program designed to block access to a computer system until an amount of money is paid to resume access.
According to the FBI, “more menacing versions can encrypt files and folders on local drives, attached drives, and even networked computers.”
“Most of the time, you don’t know your computer has been infected. You usually discover it when you can no longer access your data or you see computer messages letting you know about the attack and demanding ransom payments,” the FBI states.
The attack appears to only impact the city. Representatives for the Joint Powers Water Board, Sweetwater County School District No. 2, Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Rock Springs told SweetwaterNOW they haven’t been affected by similar attacks.
David Halter, the IT director for the Sweetwater Combined Communications Joint Powers Board said the dispatch center is assisting the Green River Police Department by providing a temporary network and computers to help police officers with their reports. He said the temporary network is isolated from the city’s network.
