Ransomware knocks Greenville, N.C. offline

Greenville, N.C., has effectively been knocked offline by a ransomware attack with the city IT department having shut down the majority of its servers to limit the extent of the attack.

In a Facebook post city officials said the incident began on April 10 and TheReflector.com reported a city spokesperson a ransom note was received but did not reveal further details on that aspect of the situation. Additionally, the city has brought in cybersecurity help from other municipalities and that they were prepared to go several days without computer support in order to get to the bottom of the situation.

“We will gradually be bringing them back online in an effort to evaluate the impact of the virus and evaluating all of our options for remedying the situation,” the city posted on Facebook.

The ransomware was first spotted by a member of the police department who notified IT who decided to pull the servers offline. Police, fire and emergency communications along with the Greenville Utilities Commission are unaffected as they operate on a separate network.

The city also made it clear that it is still functioning and all departments are there to help its residents.

“It is important to note that computers don't run cities. People do. All of our operations are continuing, although we are having to adjust some of the ways that we do things in some areas,” was posted on Facebook.