“These systems will not be restored until we have greater confidence in their safety.”
Township spokeswoman Brianna Wooten said email is still down and those needed to do business with township offices should call or come in person.
The township has been working with cybersecurity consultants and law enforcement officials – including the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center – since the first incident on Aug. 12.
The second attack, Aug. 26, targeted the township’s central email system.
“We do know the group has not sent any specific payment request,’’ Wooten said.
“Right now, our priority is to harden our systems and restore systems carefully to minimize disruptions to our operations. Forensic investigations take a long time. It’s a slow process. We cannot and will not open systems (before we know it’s safe to do so.”
West Chester Twp. is the third Butler County governing body experiencing cyber incidents in the last four months. The Kettering Health system was also attacked in May by a ransomware group called Interlock and earlier this week Nevada’s state offices and websites were closed for two days due to an attack. In mid-November 2023, a ransomware attack was discovered in Huber Heights.
Liberty Twp. underwent a ransomware attack May 5. In that incident personal information – mainly from past and current employees – may have been compromised.
Middletown was subject to a cybersecurity incident last week that disrupted several city functions including email, phone and website services. City employee information may have been affected in that attack as well.
In its 2024 report, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), said it has received more than nine million complaints of malicious activity since its founding 25 years ago. The group has averaged more than 2,000 complaints every day over the last five years.
With 24,915 complaints filed in 2024, Ohio ranked seventh in the country in the number of complaints that year, according to the report.
Last year losses reported to IC3 totaled $16.6 billion – a new record.
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