KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jackson County has reported ‘significant disruptions’ in its IT systems due to a confirmed ransomware attack.
The interference comes just hours before critical elections in the Kansas City area. However, according to Jackson County, the system outage will not impact the Kansas City Board of Elections and Jackson County Board of Elections.
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Jackson County Executive Frank White has declared a state of emergency due to the ransomware attack.
While some operational systems are not functioning properly, others appear normal, according to Jackson County.
Law enforcement and IT security contractors have been notified by the county and are currently working to remediate the situation.
“The integrity of our digital network and the confidentiality of resident data is the county’s top priority,” said Jackson County in news release. “At this time, we do not have any information suggesting that any data has been compromised.”
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Jackson County says the rapid response by county associates, especially those with the IT Department, has played a critical role in mitigating the impact of the attack.
“The swift action taken by our staff today highlights the resilience and preparedness of our staff,” White said. “I am particularly proud of our Information Technology Department for their decisive response in protecting our systems and minimizing damage.”
According to Jackson County, various county systems will remain offline to safeguard the integrity of the network to aid in recovery efforts. As a result, the Assessment, Collection and Recorder of Deeds offices at all county locations will be closed to the public Wednesday, April 3 and likely, the remainder of the week.
“Frustrating because drove to Independence,” tax payer Chantel Drake said.
Drake drove to the Truman Courthouse to pay her personal property taxes.
Like many, as soon as she walked in, she walked out. A skeleton staff inside told her the systems were down and it’s not clear when they’ll be back.
A worker told FOX4 about 200 people rolled through the door before noon and they had to turn them away.
“It’s very frustrating because then I have to come down and go out of my way again,” Drake said. “Just to come down here and try and get it done, if their systems are back up.”
Thomas Griddine drove to Independence to pay his personal property taxes like many he’s leaving frustrated.
“I make an appointment, but if I get pulled over or anything and my stuff’s not correct, and they’re making it really hard to do right now,” Griddine said. “It’s just ridiculous to be honest.”
“People work 40 hours a week and it’s really hard to get into this, you know what I’m saying, and it’s really an inconvenience and you can barely get information online, no one answers the phone, they take forever,” Griddine said. “It’s too much, it make Missouri look bad, it’s too much.”
A PayIt spokesperson issued a statement saying, “Jackson County works with PayIt to offer resident engagement and payment services for property taxes, marriage licenses, and other various payable items. The service is hosted completely outside Jackson County systems, and we have confirmed that the myJacksonCounty system has not been impacted by the incident. No customer data in myJacksonCounty has been compromised.”
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