Malware forces North Carolina County Computers Offline

KENANSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina county says it has taken its computers offline because of malware.

Officials in Duplin County said while some services to residents may be limited, emergency and essential operations will continue as usual, news sources report.

County spokeswoman Elizabeth Stalls says the county hasn’t yet received a ransom demand connected to the malware since officials discovered it so quickly. Stalls also said it’s too early to determine what systems have been damaged. While most of the finance, timekeeping, register of deeds and utility payment services are down, Stalls said the public should not be worried about personal information being compromised.

Last year, both the city of Greenville and the Onslow Water and Sewer Authority were victims of ransomware, causing their systems to go down for weeks.