"Services in North Carolina Town Unavailable After Ransomware Attack"

As a result of a recent ransomware attack, residents of Cornelius, North Carolina, are facing delayed or inaccessible services. The town has a population of around 32,000 and is a prominent Charlotte suburb on Lake Norman. On the evening of July 11, government officials discovered a cybersecurity incident later identified as a ransomware attack. According to the town government, the Technology Operations (TechOps) Department promptly disconnected on-site technology from the network to contain the threat and prevent its spread. Last year, North Carolina became the first US state to prohibit all government entities from paying ransoms in response to ransomware attacks, a controversial measure questioned by several cybersecurity experts. When the law was passed, some feared it would provide ransomware gangs with an additional means of extortion, allowing them to threaten organizations not only with the release of stolen data but also with unverified claims of having paid a ransom in violation of state law. This article continues to discuss the ransomware attack on a North Carolina town and the state's ban on ransom payments associated with ransomware attacks. 

The Record reports "Services in North Carolina Town Unavailable After Ransomware Attack"