Augusta leaders say city systems have recovered from cyberattack

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Nearly two months after a cyberattack brought city of Augusta computer systems to a standstill, all systems are functional again.

“It’s a great day in Augusta,” Mayor Garnett L. Johnson said Friday in making the announcement.

Since the breach on May 21, city officials have work the internal information technology team and outside cybersecurity specialists to respond to the network disruption.

Over the past several weeks, the city has continued to restore services affected by the network disruption, with all but a couple of systems running at full functionality as of a couple of weeks ago.

“Thank you to our IT department, and all city departments, for helping respond promptly to meet the needs of our constituents in this trying time. I’m proud to announce that because we trusted the work of our experts and put processes in place to protect our citizens and their data, we are back to functioning at full capacity,” Johnson said.

An investigation is working to uncover how muuh sensitive personal information was affected.

“Augusta remains committed to taking all appropriate actions to notify any impacted individuals identified once a determination is made,” the city said Friday.

Although city officials refused to call it a ransomware incident, a known ransomware group claimed responsibility and posted what some may consider private data on the dark web as proof of its involvement.

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