Almost a month since the Kent County government computer network was hacked, the investigation and the restoration work are continuing.
“An increasing number of our computers are running on a clean and secure network. We expect to back into full swing within the next week,” said county public information officer Kelly Pitts.
Along with some computer network problems, the county phones and website were also affected.
Initial report:Kent County government’s computer network hit by hackers. Website still down 4 days later
“The good news for us was that we were still able to provide our critical services such as 911 dispatch, emergency medical services, our wastewater treatment plant is operational, and we’ve been able to pay bills and process payroll,” Pitts said.
Also, property tax bills are expected to go out on time later this month.
Coping with the problem, redesigning the website
Initially, phone service was out.
“We went a week without phones in-house, but by the second week each department was supplied cell phones,” Pitts said.
However, emails were always accessible.
The county’s website went down. When attempting to log on, visitors received this message: “This site can’t provide a secure connection.”
County administrator Ken Decker said the website is being redesigned.
“In light of the intrusion, rather than rebuild the old site we’re moving ahead with our redesign and will incorporate lessons learned from this incident into our new design,” Decker said.
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On the county’s website, this message has been posted:
“On the morning of Saturday, July 8, the Kent County Levy Court experienced a hostile network intrusion. Where there was no disruption of critical County services like 911 Emergency Dispatch, the incident has resulted in the County taking numerous network services offline temporarily. This includes our website and our Internet-based phone system. Because this involves an active investigation by law enforcement, the County is releasing very limited details at this time. We will be updating this temporary webpage as our networks and systems are disinfected and restored. On behalf of the Levy Court Commissioners, we apologize for any delays in service. Thank you for your patience.”
Then there are links to the county’s deed records, a temporary online map, online property maintenance complaints, employment openings, an employment application and agendas for the July 18 and Aug. 8 combined committee meetings.
Pitts said the main problem affecting customers is the interruption in the system to pay tax bills online. Bills can still be paid my mail or in person at the county office, 555 Bay Road, Dover.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
