Some services in Lorain County are being impacted due to a network security incident, according to county commissioners.
Several departments are closed until the impacted systems are brought back online.
Those include:
- Lorain County Court of Common Pleas.
- General Division and Domestic Relations/Juvenile Court.
- Divisions Lorain County Adult Probation.
Other agencies, including 911 services, the sheriff's office, and emergency management, were not impacted.
It wasn't clear on Friday afternoon exactly what occurred.
A note on the county's website referenced "protecting the security and privacy of personal information," but provided few other details, except that county commissioners became aware of the incident "recently."
The News 5 Investigators requested an interview with county commissioners, but a spokesperson stated that no interviews would be conducted.
So we asked the spokesperson a series of questions, trying to learn more about what happened and what information may have been compromised.
Was it the work of hackers? Exactly when was the problem detected? What kinds of files were accessed? Has anyone or any group claimed responsibility? Has there been a ransom demand? What immediate steps were taken once the incident was detected?
However, the spokeswoman said she had no additional information to give.
Something that's of little comfort to people like Ra Allah of Lorain.
"It could potentially, you know, strip me of vital information where people can just tap into me later," said Allah.
He has a pending child support case before the court and worries about what, if any, of his information was exposed.
"I want answers," said Allah. "Because if I’m supposed to be protected if my information is supposed to be protected in the public, I’d like to know how is that a possibility, and what types of measures could they take to resolve issues like this in the future?"
It's not clear how long the courts and probation will be closed.
The county said it will send an update when the offices reopen.
