Illinois public health website shut down in ransomware attack

The Champaign-Urbana (Ill.) Public Health District’s website was encrypted in a ransomware attack March 10, according to The News-Gazette.

To spread the most updated information on the coronavirus, health officials are urging the public to visit the district’s Facebook page. Officials still have access to email accounts, environmental health records and patient EMRs. With a secure WiFi, staff members are using laptops to communicate with the public.

The website was attacked by a new ransomware known as NetWalker, health district administrator Julie Pryde told The News-Gazette. Working with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and a consulting firm, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is working to restore the website.

“The public needs to know it’s being taken care of, and we’re still functioning,” Ms. Pryde told the local newspaper.

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