Delco Government System Hacked, Impacting County Services

MEDIA, PA — Delaware County government services have been disrupted since Friday after "unauthorized activity" interfered with the county's network, officials said.

Several county-government facilities announced Friday that their phones and internet were down, including the Government Center Complex, the District Attorney's Office and libraries. Courthouse services have also been impacted.

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On Thursday, the county said it shut down its network because of unauthorized activity. Phone and internet service have been restored at this time.

"Delaware County is in the process of restoring network access that has been disrupted since Friday, June 26th, due to unauthorized activity we identified that was disrupting the County’s network," the county's statement said. "The County responded to these attempts by taking the proactive but necessary step of shutting down our network to continue to protect sensitive information and critical systems while following industry best practices in response to the intrusion attempts."

Delco's computer system was hacked in 2020 after a county employee fell for a scam email. Officials say the hacker threatened to release county data unless a ransom was paid.

The county paid $25,000 to resolve the issue.

In response, the county followed industry recommendations to secure its network, which have "proven valuable in recent days," the county said.

"Moving forward, the County will continue to perform its critical functions while re-establishing full service and network access and responding with assistance from cybersecurity specialists to confirm network security," the county government said.

All offices remain open as staff try to find workarounds to fulfill their duties. The county has asked for the public's patience as they perform this work.

Residents with questions about reaching a county office of completing a necessary transaction can contact the Delaware County Communications team at DelcoComms@co.delaware.pa.us or by phone at 610-891-4943.