North Carolina county hit by cyberattack

North Carolina's Bladen County had its data compromised and systems impacted in a cyberattack, which has prompted officials to seek out the state's Joint Cybersecurity Task Force for an investigation, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. While the county has been operating in "limited capacity," as many of its internal server- and internet-based systems were disrupted, no other state and government systems have been affected by the intrusion, according to Bladen County Board of Commissioners Chairman Rodney Hester. "It is important to share that our County has emergency preparedness plans specifically for situations like these, and at no time did any life safety services cease to operate. We followed our contingency plan and all emergency services have been fully operational throughout the incident," said Hester. Officials have not confirmed whether ransomware was involved in the intrusion but North Carolina has been noted to be among the few U.S. states that have prohibited ransom payments and required ransomware response playbooks among government entities.