Henry County, located in northwestern Ohio, was recently infected with ransomware, ultimately affecting nearly 18,000 voters in the area.
Henry County’s computer system was hit with ransomware on October 31st; however, it was reported by county officials that no ransom was paid to the cyber thieves and back up files were utilized to restore all data. Although, precisely 17,841 voters may have experienced their voter registration information to be compromised. Information like legal names, addresses, phone numbers, driver’s license numbers, as well as the ending digits of voters’ social security numbers could have potentially been stolen by the criminals.
In result, county officials report they believe no data was lost, but have notified the individuals of the county that were affected for safety precautions. The letter was sent out at the latter part of November, informing the individuals that their data may have been compromised. Glen Miller, Henry County Commission President, commented in the letter to the individuals affected, “All votes in Henry County were processed and properly accounted for.” In regards to the voter registration data being stolen, Miller states, “There would have been some indication of a movement of data and there was no indication,”.
Henry County has also taken the proper steps by notifying federal agencies as well as The Ohio Secretary of State, the Ohio Attorney General, and DHS of the infection.
