Thomasville, North Carolina

Summary

Thomasville, a city in North Carolina, reported that a cyberattack knocked many municipal systems offline while essential services remained available, and officials said it was unclear whether any sensitive data had been accessed; the city is working with a cybersecurity firm and has notified state and federal authorities. In Georgia, the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office experienced phone and internet outages that forced most of its offices to close for several days, limited staff access to email and court appearances, and noted that a previously recommended backup system had not been implemented due to cost, though recent cybersecurity measures allowed intrusion detection before significant data loss.

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Description

Thomasville, North Carolina, a city of roughly 30,000 residents, announced that a cyberattack had targeted its municipal systems, causing many city services to go offline while essential functions remained operational. The city issued a statement on Thursday explaining that the attack had disrupted its information technology infrastructure. Officials noted that it remained unclear whether any sensitive data had been accessed or compromised as a result of the incident. Residents were advised that basic services would continue despite the system outages.

In response, the Thomasville IT department began collaborating with an external cybersecurity firm to determine the scope of the breach and estimate the timeline for recovery. City Manager Michael Brandt confirmed that the municipality had notified both state and federal authorities about the attack. The statement highlighted that North Carolina is among the few states with a law prohibiting government entities from paying ransoms linked to ransomware incidents. The article also notes that nearby Winston‑Salem experienced a similar disruption of its city systems in a January cyberattack.

The same news piece also described a separate cyber incident affecting the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office in Georgia, which reported phone and internet outages beginning on Tuesday morning and anticipated limited operations for the next five days. Officials there said that a backup system had been recommended previously but was not implemented due to cost concerns, though work on a comprehensive backup had started in December 2024. New District Attorney Robert Busbee credited his recent focus on cybersecurity with enabling real‑time detection of the intrusion and preventing major data loss. The article concludes by noting that the reporter Jonathan Greig covered the story for Recorded Future News.

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