A spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Public Safety confirmed over the weekend the government agency was hit by a ransomware attack.
DPS spokeswoman Stephanie Stallings said on Saturday the cyberattack was discovered Friday morning when an employee noticed something suspicious on a computer.
"They just had a message pop on their screen that looked a little strange," Stallings told CBS 46 News in Atlanta. She said the computer was located in the DPS headquarters office.
As a result, agency officials shut down the DPS systems and servers, and the Georgia Technology Authority was called to investigate.
The Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Capitol Police and the Motor Carrier Compliance Division all fall under the DPS umbrella.
According to Stallings, all departments in the agency were able to revert to older phone and radio systems to get their work done, and service to public has not been impacted by the loss of computer access.
Just a week ago, the Lawrenceville Police Department announced its computer system had been victimized by computer hackers.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/7/817825/georgia-state-patrol-hit-with-malware-attack