Mississippi mayor says ransomware incident led city to shut down systems
A ransomware attack has shut down the computer systems of Vicksburg, Mississippi, the city’s mayor told residents on Thursday evening.
Mayor Willis Thompson published a statement in the local newspaper saying the city is investigating a ransomware attack that has not impacted emergency services but has affected payments for utilities. He said the system shutdown was “temporary.”
Thompson said no one's services will be shut off while the investigation is ongoing and no penalties will be issued for late payments. He later told the Vicksburg Post that the city has been working on the recovery effort with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and other state officials alongside private cybersecurity experts.
“One of the top priorities of our investigation is determining whether there was any compromise of personal or confidential information relating to current and/or former customers, contractors, vendors, employees, or affiliated business partners of the City,” Thompson said in a statement.
“At this time, the investigation is ongoing, and the City has not reached a final determination regarding what information, if any, may have been accessed or acquired without authorization.”
The city did not respond to requests for comment about ransom demands or the identity of the attackers.
Thompson’s statement said the city will not be disclosing any technical information “that could interfere with the investigation, recovery efforts, or the security of City systems.”
Vicksburg has more than 20,000 residents and is about 40 minutes west of the state’s capital of Jackson.
The state recently dealt with a devastating ransomware attack on the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) — the largest and most important healthcare organization in the state.
The hospital system — which has the state’s only children's hospital, only Level I trauma center, only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit and the state’s only organ transplant programs — spent weeks in the dark after the attack and needed FBI assistance to recover.
Ransomware gangs also targeted a prominent electricity utility in Mississippi last year and another county in 2023.
References in this story
- Medusa ransomware gang claims attacks on prominent Mississippi hospital, New Jersey county therecord.media The Medusa ransomware operation has claimed a devastating cyberattack that knocked out systems at the biggest hospital in Mississippi for nine days.
- Mississippi electric utility warns 20,000 residents of data breach therecord.media The Yazoo Valley Electric Power Association initially warned customers in August of software problems. Last week, the utility disclosed that "unauthorized access" had led to a breach of sensitive customer information.
- ‘It feels like a digital hurricane’: Coastal Mississippi county recovering from ransomware attack therecord.media A coastal Mississippi county is in the process of recovering from a wide-ranging ransomware attack that took down nearly all of the government’s in-office computers.
- Advanced Cyber Threat Intelligence | Recorded Future www.recordedfuture.com Get real-time, actionable cyber threat intelligence with Recorded Future. Mitigate cyber risks, prioritize threats, and proactively secure your organization.
- Advanced Cyber Threat Intelligence | Recorded Future www.recordedfuture.com Get real-time, actionable cyber threat intelligence with Recorded Future. Mitigate cyber risks, prioritize threats, and proactively secure your organization.
- jon greig (@jgreigj) on X twitter.com @TheRecord_Media cybersecurity reporter. formerly @zdnet @cambodiadaily @haitiantimes_ — send tips to [email protected] or signal: jgreig.51
- jon greig (@jgreig.bsky.social) bsky.app cybersecurity reporter for The Record. formerly: zdnet, techrepublic, blavity, haitian times, cambodia daily — send tips to [email protected] or signal: jgreig.51
