A list of what appeared to be documents from a Fulton County data breach has disappeared from a hacking group’s website after a countdown clock for the release of data reached zero, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The LockBit hacking group had posted screenshots of what appeared to be legitimate county documents and information about county computer services, according to the report, with a deadline of 12:47 a.m. Eastern time on Friday.
But less than a half hour after that deadline passed, the post disappeared from the LockBit site. It’s unclear if Fulton County paid a ransom to prevent the data from being released to the public.
Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts confirmed on Wednesday that cybercriminals had claimed responsibility for the computer attack that shut down many of the government’s services.
LockBit was the most deployed ransomware variant across the world in 2022, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. It has been used to attack organizations across critical infrastructure sectors that include government and emergency services, financial services, energy, healthcare, and education.
Original Story
Cybercriminals have claimed responsibility for a ransomware attack that shut down many Fulton County computer systems, Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said in a briefing held Wednesday afternoon.
“While our investigation remains ongoing, we do have evidence that suggests this was the result of a ransomware incident caused by financially motivated actors,” Pitts said.
Investigators became aware of cybercriminals who were claiming responsibility for the attack on the dark web. Screenshots of information the cybercriminals claimed were accessed from county systems are being checked to determine if personal information was accessed by the criminals.
If the county determines sensitive personal information – whether it be employees or county residents – was…
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