Records still missing

FREMONT — While a ransomware attack on Sandusky County's computer systems is over, the fallout isn't. Some files remain held hostage. The county was the victim of a ransomware attack in September. Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts files and locks users out until the victim pays the hacker. Sandusky County hired a cybersecurity firm, Sylint Group Inc., to do a forensic investigation the attack. Since September, the county regained access to most of its systems, according to county administrator Theresa Garcia, but one backup server remains inaccessible. The backup server contains digital scans of court records from county courts in Clyde and Woodville, county court clerk Tracy Overmyer said. Garcia said the server can't be accessed because the hackers responsible for the attack encrypted the server. "We have hopes to regain access to those records," Garcia said. "We will continue to monitor encryption codes that may allow this access." Garcia said there's no evidence that anyone's personal information was compromised in the attack. It's not known how many records are on the server or how many of them have physical copies. Overmyer said some of the records on the server might have already exceeded their retention period, or how long a court is required to keep a record. A reader recently sent the Register a form letter after they received from the county commissioner's office after making a records request. The letter states: "We are unable to retrieve the documents that you requested because of the cyber incident that happened in September 2019. While we were able to restore most of our documents after the incident, a limited number of records including the ones you requested could not be recovered. We apologize for any inconvenience." Cleveland attorney David Marburger said Ohio adopted a statute in 2018 called the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act. The statute requires the state government to preserve legal records, provide backups for the records in case of a "disaster" and "ensure continuing usability of the material." "(The statute) only applies to certain records of state government, but raises questions about what local government is supposed to do about the local electronic government records," Marburger said. Overmyer said she attempted to get improved backup servers in 2016 as "an extra insurance policy," but the request was denied by county judges.