Ohio Auditor of State's Office Hit by Cyberattack on October 25; Auditor Says Foreign Actors Suspected
Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio — Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber said in a statement on October 27 that his office was hit by a cyberattack on October 25, and that overseas cybercriminals and possible 'foreign state actors' were behind it. The office quarantined the threat immediately upon detecting it and took its web server and online accounts offline; state and federal law enforcement are investigating. Faber said the attack was not a ransomware attack but did not specify what type of attack it was. Because staff routinely back up files, the office lost no data, and it does not believe the financial information of Ohioans or of audited government agencies is at risk, since payments run through a separate government portal and the data was not on the office's web server. Audit clients' online payments may be affected, however; the office is building a temporary web platform and asks for patience until the permanent server returns. As of early afternoon on October 27, the Auditor of State's website remained offline. Faber said the office is cooperating with law enforcement to protect its data and determine the extent of the attack.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于哥伦布的俄亥俄州议会大厦（资料图）。Sixflashphoto 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Photo: The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus (file photo). By Sixflashphoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
