Rock County Human Services Department

The Rock County Human Services Department in Wisconsin experienced a significant cybersecurity breach that was identified around September 29, 2023. This incident involved a ransomware attack that targeted the department’s computer systems, affecting the public health department which serves over 160,000 people across various cities, villages, and towns within the county. The attack was attributed to the Cuba ransomware gang, a group not associated with the country of Cuba but believed to be connected to the Russian state, according to researchers at Google and Ukraine’s Computer Emergency Response Team

The breach led to the theft of employee and client information, including sensitive personal health information. The attackers deployed a phishing email campaign to gain unauthorized access to the department’s systems

The compromised data included Social Security numbers, dates of birth, medical information, driver’s license numbers, financial account information, and health insurance information

The county discovered suspicious activity on its computer systems, which included the encryption of certain systems, between September 22 and September 30, 2023

The attackers demanded a ransom of $1.9 million, which was not paid by the county or its insurance carrier

In response to the attack, Rock County officials took immediate action by taking affected systems offline to prevent further impact. They also engaged third-party specialists to assist in securely restoring and rebuilding their systems

The county is conducting an ongoing investigation to understand the full nature and scope of the event, including the impact on any data within their systems

Despite the breach, the county has stated that employees are working as normal and consumers can access care as they always have, although the restoration of the county’s geographic information systems (GIS) is taking additional time