By WMBD-TV
TAZEWELL COUNTY – November’s cyber security incident in Tazewell County left the county in a dire situation internet-wise. However, they are now “95% back” according to county board chairman David Zimmerman.
The county’s internal internet, used for things like requesting days off, is still down. Township assessors are also still unable to log into computers until the two-factor authentication software is up. Outside of that, Zimmerman said the county’s issues are “nearly resolved” when it comes to cyber.
Last night’s Tazewell County Board meeting featured two emergency declarations related to the cyber incident.
The first had to do with the fact that the county’s cyber insurance provider initially had incorrect data when it came to essential county information. Initial data showed that the county only had 50 employees and $15 million in the budget when they actually have around 400 employees and $69 million in the budget.
This caused the insurance premiums to be significantly lower than they should have been, and the provider made the county pay the additional premiums or the cyber incident would not have been covered. As a result, an emergency declaration had to be made.
The other emergency declaration had to do with the insurance provider’s rapid response team. The county had to provide some upfront costs that were ultimately reimbursed by the insurance company. Zimmerman said he needed to initiate an emergency declaration in order to get that process started.
Questions still persist over the origin of the cyber attack.
“Now we may never know where the hacker originated, but according to our administrator, the report that they’ll give to the county is about 90% complete. Maybe when it’s finished here soon, we’ll have a better line of sight of where it came from,” Zimmerman said.
The board also accepted the resignation of Vivian Hagaman at last night’s meeting. She represented District 2. Zimmerman now has 60 days to appoint someone to take her position, with board approval.
Carle Health will also lease 2500 square feet related to a health department annex. Carle Health requested to delay the implementation of the lease for a year which passed by only one vote. Zimmerman said that some board members felt uneasy about the terms the board had to pay for the building, and that Carle should have done more “due diligence”.
An already approved solar farm in the county also had a special use permit renewed.
