DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Cornelia, Georgia hit by ransomware attack on the day after Christmas

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Dissent

Posted on: December 29, 2020 by the City of Cornelia:

City of Cornelia Ransomware Incident

The City of Cornelia is dealing with a ransomware incident that began on December 26. We have anticipated situations such as this and, out of an abundance of caution, we have taken down our network while we investigate and restore our data. We have alerted law enforcement and we are cooperating with their investigation.

First responders and emergency phone lines are unaffected. City operations such as garbage pickup and utility work are proceeding normally.  City Hall phones and emails are currently working.  However, City administrative software is currently offline so we cannot look up the balance of your bills and cannot accept credit card payments for services at this time.

Ransomware is, unfortunately, fairly common and no entity is immune. We have engaged external experts to help us resolve the matter.  According to the them, the business model of those behind the ransomware is typically NOT to profit off of selling the personal information of city employees or our citizens on the Internet – it is to extract a payment from the City itself.

We will provide more information and updates as our investigation progresses. Members of the public with non-emergency requests are asked to contact City Hall @ 706-778-8585.

Of note, it was slightly more than one year ago that it was reported:

GA: Cornelia fends off third ransomware attack of the year, upgrades firewall.  So they had upgraded their firewall, invested in a full-time IT employee and support services, and they were still successfully attacked this week.

Cornelia is a small city doing the best they can, it seems. It’s a shame they have to devote so much of limited resources to dealing with fending off these attacks.

Additional details are reported by Joy Purcell on Now Habersham.

h/t, @Chum1ng0

Related posts:

  • The Ransomware Superhero of Normal, Illinois
  • GA: Cornelia fends off third ransomware attack of the year, upgrades firewall
Category: Government SectorMalwareU.S.

Post navigation

← EXCLUSIVE: Conti describes how they attacked Leon Medical Centers; shows DataBreaches.net almost 2 million patient-related files
FR: Grand Annecy hit by malware attack →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Qantas customers involved in mammoth data breach
  • CMS Sending Letters to 103,000 Medicare beneficiaries whose info was involved in a Medicare.gov breach.
  • Esse Health provides update about April cyberattack and notifies 263,601 people
  • Terrible tales of opsec oversights: How cybercrooks get themselves caught
  • International Criminal Court hit with cyber attack during NATO summit
  • Pembroke Regional Hospital reported canceling appointments due to service delays from “an incident”
  • Iran-linked hackers threaten to release emails allegedly stolen from Trump associates
  • National Health Care Fraud Takedown Results in 324 Defendants Charged in Connection with Over $14.6 Billion in Alleged Fraud
  • Swiss Health Foundation Radix Hit by Cyberattack Affecting Federal Data
  • Russian hackers get 7 and 5 years in prison for large-scale cyber attacks with ransomware, over 60 million euros in bitcoins seized

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • The Trump administration is building a national citizenship data system
  • Supreme Court Decision on Age Verification Tramples Free Speech and Undermines Privacy
  • New Jersey Issues Draft Privacy Regulations: The New
  • Hacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.