County administrator says November cyberattack disrupted services; phones and register of deeds still affected

Wexford County's administrator reported to the board that a significant cyberattack in November disrupted county IT systems and service delivery. "Most of our services are back up and running. Telephones are still an issue, but we do have people working on those as we speak," the administrator told commissioners.

The administrator said the sheriff's office would have a new server program by the following day and that staff hoped phones at the sheriff's office and other county offices would be restored sometime next week. The register of deeds office remained affected and the administrator warned that residents calling for recording or real-estate services might encounter difficulties.

Why it matters: Disruptions to communications and records access can delay transactions for residents and impede public safety operations that rely on telephony and record availability. The administrator characterized the situation as under active remediation and encouraged commissioners to consult staff if they needed more detail.

Board members asked no substantive policy questions in the recorded remarks; the administrator invited new commissioners to visit county offices and meet staff to get up to speed on operations.

Next steps: County IT and vendor teams will continue restoration work; the administrator did not provide a firm date for full restoration of the register of deeds systems but indicated staff would provide updates.