Cyber Threat In Anne Arundel: Recovery Milestone Reached By County Government

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Amid a weeks-long cyber threat, the Anne Arundel County Government on Friday restored internet access for on-site employees for certain business processes.

Internet access was previously limited as a precaution.

"Anne Arundel County was able to take the next step forward in our recovery efforts," County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a Friday press release. "I want to thank our Office of Information Technology for taking the appropriate steps to establish the most secure environment for restoring operations. I also want to thank county agency heads led by the Office of Emergency Management for their continued support and innovation while we continued to respond to this incident."

The issue emerged on Feb. 22, temporarily closing some county buildings and forcing some employees to work remotely.

Pittman's team has declined to answer questions on whether this was a cyber attack that held the county's systems captive for ransom. The county executive promised transparent answers when the situation is fully resolved.

"We will provide more information on what occurred, which operations were affected, and the steps we are taking to strengthen our cybersecurity once it is appropriate. In the meantime, our priority continues to be restoring services in an orderly and secure manner," Pittman said in the press release.

Residents can visit aacounty.org/CyberIncident for updates, department operational statuses and a list of alternative payment methods for county-specific bills and fees. The county is making accommodations for late payments stemming from system disruptions.

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