Ohio County Pays Criminals $1 Million After Data Theft

A small county government in Ohio reportedly paid criminals one million dollars after hackers broke in and stole sensitive data. The county made this payment to try to prevent the criminals from releasing the stolen information to the public. This type of crime is called cyber extortion or ransomware. If you live in a small county in Ohio, your personal information held by county offices may have been stolen. This could include property records, court documents, health department records, or other data the county keeps about residents. The specific county has not been publicly confirmed, making it difficult for residents to know if they are affected.

Here is what you should do:

1. Contact your county government offices and ask directly if they experienced a data breach. They should tell you if your information was involved.
2. Monitor your financial accounts and credit reports for unusual activity, especially if you have had recent interactions with county services.
3. Be extremely cautious of emails or letters claiming to be from county offices. Criminals who steal government data often use it to create convincing scam messages.
4. Sign up for alerts from your bank and credit card companies so you are notified immediately of suspicious transactions. Even when governments pay ransoms, there is no guarantee criminals delete the stolen data. They may sell it or use it later. Protect yourself by treating your personal information as permanently exposed after any breach. Use strong, unique passwords for every account. Enable two factor authentication wherever possible. These steps limit damage even if criminals have some of your information.