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Board chair condemns online misinformation, schedules public Q&A; county administrator updates residents on cyber incident
Summary
At its September meeting the Richland County Board chair condemned online "rumor mongering," announced a Sept. 24 public Q&A with outside counsel, and the county administrator provided a forensic update on a cyber incident, saying there is "no evidence that any of your information has been used for identity theft or financial fraud."
The Richland County Board chair opened the Sept. meeting by saying public comment had been removed from the evening's agenda and condemning online attacks against county staff, calling recent posts "terrible accusations, innuendos and misinformation" and urging residents to "reserve your judgment" until the county can share more information and answer questions in person.
The chair said the board supports the County Administrator and announced a special public session for Sept. 24 that will include attorney Andy Phillips and a representative from the Wisconsin Counties Association to review roles and responsibilities of county government and provide a public question-and-answer period. The chair said there would be no official board action at that meeting and asked attendees to engage respectfully.
Candace, identified at the meeting as the county administrator, provided a detailed update about an unauthorized network access the county detected last October. She said the county immediately activated security protocols, engaged third-party forensic experts and federal law enforcement, and completed an extensive investigation before beginning notifications. "We have no evidence that any of your information has been used for identity theft or financial fraud as a result of this incident," Candace told the board and attendees, while urging residents to take precautionary steps such as placing a fraud alert or security freeze on credit files and to monitor accounts.
Candace said the county will provide complimentary credit-monitoring services for residents whose Social Security numbers were determined to be affected by the investigation and that the county has implemented recommendations made by cybersecurity experts. She encouraged anyone with questions to contact the county directly rather than relying on social media accounts.
The chair and staff framed the Sept. 24 session as an opportunity for face-to-face answers and said the board would provide additional information as it becomes available.
