Cañon City, CO - In collaboration with county, state and federal partners, the Governor’s Office of Information (OIT) has determined through its investigation that the recent cybersecurity event impacting Fremont County systems was the result of BlackCat ransomware, also known as ALPHV. Fremont County incident response efforts remain in full effect and significant progress has been made.
“The BlackCat ransomware variant has recently impacted multiple jurisdictions in Colorado, so it’s imperative that every business and government agency be on high alert and take the necessary steps to protect their systems from being compromised,” stated OIT Chief Information Security Officer Ray Yepes.
Fremont County officials notified employees on Wednesday that their personal information may have been compromised as a result of the ransomware attack, along with a small number of individuals in the community. The county is preparing a mailing to notify those who may have been affected and is working closely with Experian to offer credit monitoring services.
“We thank our community for affording us the time and space to investigate the cause of the cyber event,” added Fremont County Commissioner and Chairman of the Board Debbie Bell. “We will proceed with incident response efforts to assess the overall impact and get services back online as quickly as possible.”
Fremont County is continuing to work closely with OIT, the Colorado Department of Public Safety and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to ensure that counties and municipalities across the state are aware of the threat and understand how to protect their systems from being infected with the specific BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware variant.
While ransomware attacks typically target large companies, organizations and government agencies, the resources below are available to help the public learn more about cybersecurity and staying safe online:
- Online Safety + Privacy Basics - National Cybersecurity Alliance
- Cyber Crime - Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Visit the temporary Fremont County website at https://fremontcountyco.state.co.us for incident updates and real-time information on the availability of county services.