(TNS) — While Mower County has largely got its systems back online following the June 18 ransomware attack, it is now letting people know about potential impact to personal information.
According to a release sent Friday afternoon by County Administrator Matthew Verdick, the County is providing notice on its website to individuals whose information may have been impacted in the recent cyber incident and is posted at https://www.co.mower.mn.us/. The County is providing this notification while it conducts the review of the impacted data. Upon completing its review, the County will provide required written notice to individuals and will offer complimentary credit monitoring services where appropriate.
Mower County detected ransomware on its computer network early in the morning on June 18 and immediately launched an investigation with assistance from expert cybersecurity and data forensics consultants to secure its network and investigate the scope of the incident.
The County also alerted federal law enforcement.
As part of the ongoing investigation, the County determined that the cyber criminals took certain data from its network, which included protected health information. The affected information relates to individuals who received or are receiving services from the Mower County’s Health and Human Services Department. The investigation is ongoing, and the County is conducting a thorough review of the contents of the data to establish what information may have been involved, who may have been affected, and where those people reside so that we can provide written notice.
“The privacy and security of the information we maintain is very important to us, and we remain committed to doing everything we can to maintain the confidentiality of such information,” said Verdick said. “The County will continue to invest in the internal processes, tools, and resources to reduce the likelihood of future security incidents.”
Mower continues to closely monitor its systems, data, and network access. Additionally, the County is evaluating and making changes to strengthen its network against any future incidents. As a precautionary measure, the County encourages potentially impacted individuals to take appropriate steps to protect their protected health information by regularly reviewing account statements, free credit reports, and any health insurance Explanation of Benefits (EOB) forms for unauthorized or suspicious activity and reporting any unusual activity to law enforcement.
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