By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
For the Los Alamos Daily Post

Wayne County is the most populous county in Michigan. Per Wikipedia – “As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States”. Reports are indicating that this week Wayne County fell victim to a cyber attack.

Details remain slim, but according to reports from local news they are investigating a cyber attack that has targeted “some internal systems”.

“The County Information Technology team is aware of a cyber incident targeting some internal systems. We are currently investigating the scope of the incident with our cybersecurity partners which include the FBI and Michigan State Police,” county spokesperson Doda Lulgjuraj said in an official statement. The FBI could not confirm or deny an ongoing investigation.

The impact of the attack has been immediate, though the attack is not yet fully understood:

• At the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, inmates could not be bonded out while servers remained down;
• Defense attorneys were unable to schedule client visits;
• Tax payments were not able to be paid online to the treasurer’s office, though in-person payments could still be collected.
• The County Register of Deeds closed at noon the day following the attack; and 
• Wayne County Prosecutor’s and Clerk’s offices likewise were closed.

The county’s website remained down when I checked.

It is not clear who is behind the cyber attack, but local news sources are saying it is a ransomware attack. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that locks down computer resources until a ransom amount is paid to the attacker, it is an increasingly common attack.

According to a report by Sophos, a cybersecurity company, attacks against the public sector are actually down, from 48% in 2020 to 34% in 2024, but costs of recovery have increased, from $1.21 million in 2023 to $2.83 million in 2024. Ransomware remains amongst the most lucrative of cyber attacks.

How do these attacks happen? Many ways, usually either through a phishing attack, or by the attacker finding and exploiting a vulnerability in the system’s hardware or software. IT budgets are tight, and cyber can often be the first to be cut as an “unnecessary expense”.

It’s a numbers game, and everything is fine until…it isn’t. Attackers are constantly evolving and the addition of AI tools is only making things worse. In a world of tight budgets, everyone should be aware of the looming threat of cyber criminals, and work on maintaining a good cyber program to protect their IT resources. Unfortunately, it isn’t a perfect world, and these attacks will continue until cyber becomes a priority.

Editor’s note: Rebecca Rutherford works in information technology at Los Alamos National Laboratory.